SCI to hold international Indian classical music fest from Aug 21

Panaji, Aug 19 (UNI) Samraat Club International (SCI), a socio- cultural service organisation with global jurisdiction, will organise a month-long first-ever International Festival of Indian Classical Music (IFICM) at six places like Mumbai, Goa, Bangalore, Delhi, London and New York from August 21 to September 20.

Briefing mediapersons here about the event, SCI president Dr Prafulla Hede said such festivals are generally held at one place.

However, for the first time it will be conducted at different centres.

The festival will be inaugurated at the prestigious P L Deshpande Maharastra Kala Academy (Ravindra Natya Mandir), Mumbai, on August 21, followed by Kala Academy Goa on September one, Kamani Auditorium New Delhi on September six, Chaudiah Memorial Hall, Bangalore on September nine and will be concluded at Zenkal Hall at Carnegie, New York on September 20. London is yet to be cleared.

Mr Hede said the objective of this festival is to promote and popularise Indian music, which had for long been confined to the classes, and take it to the masses. This situation is discouraging the upcoming promising artistes from taking Indian classical music as an exclusive profession. If this trend continues, evolution of another Pt Ravi Shankar, Bhimsen Joshi, Pandit Jasraj, Kishori Amonkar, Zakir Hussain, Amjad Ali will become a distant dream, he added.

The artistes of national and international fame will participate in the event, featuring the likes of Pt Hariprasad Chaurasia (Flute), Ustad Shujaat Khan (Sitar), and Pt Rajan and Sajan Mishra.

Altogether 45 maestros and promising amateurs are participating in the festival.

UNI SRN SSS LL VA BS1254