The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Nightlong fest for classical music fans

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Saturday, Jun 25, 2011
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Nightlong fest for classical music fans

Ranjani Govind

The fiesta begins this evening at the Ravindra Kalakshetra

THE MAESTRO: Veteran R.K. Srikantan will be bestowed with the vedike's Kalashringa Award for this year.

Bangalore: It will be dusk-to-dawn music at the Ravindra Kalakshetra from 6.30 p.m. on Saturday.

Shri Rama Kala Vedike is organising ‘Nasheyinda Ushege', the 35th year tribute to tabla artiste Ramachandra Yavagal. Yavagal, a vocalist also without formal training, was known for his outstanding memory and keen grasping power.

Says Ravindra Yavagal, an All India Radio employee, who founded the vedike: “We started the nightlong chamber concerts in the late 1970s in memory of my father in Hubli and wanted to continue this in a bigger way in Bangalore.”

Encouraged by the response, Yavagal, along with his students and friends, established the vedike, in 2000. “We decided to bring in young and senior musicians, have workshops and lecdems, and honour achievers on such occasions.”

Night music, interestingly, is common in Hubli and Dharwad regions for the serene ambience it provides. Among the seven music specials on Saturday, child prodigy Sameer Atreya, a student of Sakuntala Narasimhan, (he had stunned the renowned vocalist Venkatesh Kumar once with his rendering of Chaya Nat in the rare Jap Taal) will provide a Hindustani treat while nonagenarian R.K. Srikantan will present a traditional Carnatic fare.

He will be bestowed with the Vedike's Kalashringa Award for this year “for his eight decades of performing career that has enriched the Carnatic genre.”

Nearly 25 artistes from Bangalore, Kolkata, Mumbai, Thirthahalli, Hubli, Pune and Goa will be part of the nightlong programme. Veterans such as Shyamala G. Bhave and Suraj Purandhare will be felicitated earlier in the evening.

The other highlights include a tabla session from Pandit Govind Bose and son Somnath Bose; a Hindustani vocal jugalbandi by Dhananjay Hegde and Kaushik Itaal; Hindustani by Krishnendra Wadikar; sitar by Sandhya (Phadke) Apte, a disciple of the legendary Annapurna Devi; and Hindustani vocal by Alka Deo Marulkar.

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