For me watching this clip is big fun! The band Secret Chiefs 3 play a piece called ‘Vajra’.
‘Vajra’ by the Secret Chiefs 3 turns out to be a well done, enjoyable cover of veena genius S. Balachander’s sixties-recording of ‘Neethumahima’, a composition in raag ‘Hamsanandhi’, as you can check out in a YouTube-video (below) I published in 2008.
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Beginning of February 2012 multi-talented dancer Meenakshi Srinivasan tours in Holland and Belgium. She’s one of the most prominent performers of the classical temple dance bharata natyam, a dance style originating from South India with its earliest roots dating back to 1000 B.C. The repertoire of this traditional dance style is based on old choreographies depicting the classical myths and legends of Hindu deities.
Meenakshi doesn’t confine herself to tradition only. Based on modern themes and ideas she also creates new choreographies by combining the language of the bharata natyam with modern dance techniques. Meenakshi’s dancing is highly stylised and energetic, but looks playful and effortless at the same time.
Her performances in The Netherlands and Belgium are accompanied by voice, violin, nattuvangam (little cymbals) and mridangam (a two-sided drum). Meenakshi Srinivasan is a must for people interested in traditional and modern dance and in Indian classical music.
Tour Schedule (date – location / time):
Friday 3 February 2012 – Antwerp, Zuiderpershuis / 20:30
Saturday 4 February 2012 – Utrecht, RASA / 20:30
Sunday 5 February 2012 – Amsterdam, Tropentheater / 15:00
Thursday 9 February 2012 – The Hague, De Regentes / 20:15
Raga Unlimited growth rate figures (click on picture to enlarge)
The LinkedIn-group that I run, Raga Unlimited, launched on 12 December 2008, has now 344 members. Anyone interested and registered on LinkedIn can join, that is, after (my) admission (don’t worry, there have been no refusals so far). A lot of knowledgeable people show up in the ranks. 37% works in the music industry and 16% is active in arts & design. In 2011 the group’s membership figure more than doubled, from 150 to 343, that’s an increase of 193 members in one year. Most people joined in May (28x), June (29x) and December (29x). Today, New Year’s Day 2012, I’ve already welcomed one more newbie, so we’re talking about a membership growth rate of 1 per day so far this year :).
The group’s ‘mission statement’ (click on picture to enlarge)
Feel free to join if you’re interested.
I reported earlier on ‘Raga Unveiled’, an ambitious cinematic effort to take a look at the history and essence of the Hindustani classical music system. In this film – directed by Gita Desai and released in 2009 – scholars and great artists of today unveil the raga and demonstrate evrything you always would have liked to know about Indian classical music.
Here’s the trailer:
For anyone interested in raga music this 260 minute-film is a ‘must’ and of course it’s needless to say that you should see and buy the film on dvd in much better quality.
A not to be missed concert tour of young ragasinger Pushkar Lele in The Netherlands and Belgium from 30 November to 6 December 2011. Pushkar Lele sings in the North Indian hindusthani tradition. Natural curiosity led him to follow in the footsteps of that great innovator of Indian vocal music, Kumar Gandharva. No imitator, however, he performs his own interpretations of ragas and bhajan poetry. Pushkar Lele’s vocal art will be accompanied by Sanjay Deshpande on tabla and Suyog Kundalkar on harmonium.
Tour schedule:
Antwerpen – Zuiderpershuis 30 nov. 20:30
Utrecht – Rasa 1 dec. 20:30
Amsterdam – Tropentheater 2 dec. 20:00
Den Haag – Regentes – 4 dec. 03:00 PM
Maasmechelen – Schouwburg Cultureel Centrum – 6 dec. 20:15
I’ve been tracking down his uploads ever since I noticed his presence on YouTube early this year. Shankar Tucker is quite a phenomenal guy who has conquered a world audience by storm via his YouTubechannel in less than a year.
One of Shankar Tucker’s videos: Sapnon se Bhare Naina, with singer Rohini Ravada
Shankar Tucker plays the clarinet and a handful of other instruments and is interested in Indian Classical music and Indian folk music traditions. He incorporates these different styles with elements of Jazz, Electronic, Classical and Pop in his compositions. He spends a lot of time in India, where he studies Hindustani music on clarinet with flute-bansuri player Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia. So far Shankar Tucker’s channel has featured collaborations with a bunch of great singers, such as Mahesh Vinayakram, Aditya Rao, Rohan Kymal, Vidya and Vandana Iyer and Nirali Kartik.
Here’s a link to the Hindustan Times writing about him in September 2011, a.o. things saying: “(..) a student of flautist Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia at the Brindaban Gurukul in Mumbai, he has picked the clarinet over flute”. And then, so funny what follows: “(..) he disclosed in an interview to an Indian Express that his guru doesn’t even know about his fusion experiments.” :))
On 6 August 2011 the British Film Institute in London screens Light of Asia (1925, dir. by Franz Osten & Himansu Rai), a spectacular and rarely shown epic with a new live score from Pandit Vishwa Prakash and his team of musicians (Sanju Sahai, Surjeet Singh, Mitel Purohit, Debipriya Sircar, Jonathan Lawrence and Uttara Joshi). Read more about it here.
A fantastic project!
Earlier today I published a short message on great footage – published on YouTube – of veena player S. Balachander. In addition to this I thought it’d be nice to show a folder used for one of his concerts in the sixties.
Front- and backpage of the veena recital-brochure (click on the picture to enlarge, twice for extra large)
I found this beautiful veena recital-brochure in the Peter van Hoboken papers at Radio Netherlands, a small, but very fine collection I try to write about now and then.
Inside pages of the veena recital-brochure (click on the picture to enlarge, twice for extra large)
I don’t know how Van Hoboken did get this folder, but it seems to me it was either sent to him or he visited a concert of veena maestro S. Balachander himself. Neither the date, nor the location of the concert recital are mentioned, but I guess it was used to inform an audience in India, since the folder was printed in Madras.
OMG, fantaaastic! I can watch this clip all day!!!
Amazing footage of the greatest veena genius, S. Balachander. In this set he’s playing a garland of ragas. There’s some funny moments as well, revealing a bit more of his personality. His playing is monumental and totally unique. Soo inspiring and uplifting to watch this. I think serious, improvising musicians from all over the world – regardless of their musical and cultural background – will easily get inspired by this stupendous veena playing.
A beautiful example on YouTube of the mellifluous voice of Kaushiki (Desikan-)Chakrabarty, she must be very young here. Ajoy Chakrabarty – her father and also her guru – explains and plays harmonium. Yogesh Samsi is playing tabla.