BOSTON: A free Felicitation Concert was arranged by the Karnatic Hindustani Music Circle (KHMC) to celebrate its 20thanniversary at Arthur Clark Government Building, Waltham, MA on Saturday, April 23.
As part of their anniversary celebrations, they honored the founders of KHMC, Smt. Durga Krishnan, Dr. Suresh Mathur and Preeti Chakravarthi for their vigorous service and enthusiastic leadership over the years towards spreading and preserving of the Indian classical music treasure in the New England (NE) community.
A group of prominent Hindustani and Carnatic artists from NE area paid their respectful musical tribute to the founding members. Hundreds of audience dressed in the traditional Indian costumes gathered in the Hall to relish the delicacy of both Indian classical music systems.
• The first segment of the concert in Carnatic style was led by Uma Sankar, Bhuvana Ganesh, and Valli Bhamidipatti and their team of students. They were accompanied by senior artists such as KVS Vinayon Tabla and Mridanga Vidwansars Kanjira and Morsing. This team presented a melodious music piece to the audience to enjoy.
• The second sector of the concert presented an interactive session between the artists and audience. Shuchita Rao and Uma Sankar sang the Nottuswaram of Muthuswamy Dikshithar with both Carnatic and Hindustani lyrics. This song mostly encompassed simple melodies inspired by Scots and Irish tunes. The song being based on simple melodies with entirely Indian lyrics made the artists and audience to sing the song with full chorus.
• Phil Kaplan on Violin and Sujeet Phanse on Flute presented an elegant Hindustani instrumental experience to the audience. They were just watching the mastery of coordination and a high quality performance of these artists.
• Vaishnavi Kondapalli along with senior singers namely Shuchita Rao, Swati Panda, Pradeep Shukla, and their student teams offered audience another delightful performance. Preeti Chakravarthi on Harmonium, Rajesh Pai on Tabla, Sujeet Phanse on Flute were well known artists of this area.
Smt. Durga Krishnan, Dr. Suresh Mathur and Preeti Chakravarthi were honored with bouquet and plaque for teaching, preserving, and bringing together the Karnatic and Hindustani musical heritage in NE area. Smt. DurgaJi said that it is indispensable to create interest in younger generation for Indian classical music and pass this rich heritage to our youngsters.
Dr. Mathur stated that all music systems have only one language that gives happiness to listeners. It is in this context that there is a need to bring the Hindustani and the Carnatic music communities together in providing a forum for the practitioners of these two music systems through concerts, seminars, literature, recordings, and class room teaching.
Mali Santhanakrishnan, on behalf of the executive committee of the KHMC, proposed vote of thanks. He acknowledged the contributions of musicians. He expressed his gratitude for all the volunteers who supported the event with their time and services.
Lastly, he recognized with due respect the organizers namely Jayanthi Ghatraju, Praveena Naduthota and Jyothi Sharma and thanked them generously for their meticulous work.
Geetha Patil
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