nidhiramblers

Shubhendra and Tara had been in correspondence about arranging his sitar concert in Bangkok for a while. As Shubhendra said 'Eeega Samaya Banthu' (The time came now!). Events developed quickly and on Monday last, Tara was at the airport to receive the artists. Good that I did not go as they had lots of luggage. Shubhendra obviously had his Sitar, but what surprised us were the two huge 'storm' boxes that Ty had brought along with him. The boxes, apart from the Tablas, were full of electronic instruments; a mixer, an equalizer, a recorder, accessories and tools. They said that they carried these equipment to ensure the right quality of sound. They had learnt from experience that most of the sponsors did not have the right system for a concert. Their commitment to create the best quality of sound and the trouble they took for this was impressive. It is interesting that as soon as we hear about a 'live concert' being held, we begin to talk about the concerts we h...

It is uncanny sometimes how events develop. As I read comments from Rama and Varsha giving their meaning to the term 'craft' in my earlier blog ' Varsha Nair: Her art...', I came across 'Handmade Nation' recommended as a blog of note. It was an enticing title that lead me to the blog, which is about the rise of DIY (Do It Yourself) and the new wave of art, craft and design in the USA . (http://indiecraftdocumentary.blogspot.com/ .) Anyway, Rama's comments about craft set me thinking. 'But craft requires mastery of technique along with creativity, making it a tougher field'. (Rama Gopinath lives near Seattle and Gopi takes me golfing at his club on our visits to our daughter Nandini .) To reminisce, it took me back to the time, years ago in Khajuraho , when I saw both Tara and Raji suddenly run excitedly towards..... well a hand cart full of brass figurines. These were all very well crafted and very beautiful and are still displayed in...

I thought, here I am rambling about art and how is it that I have not written about Varsha? It is indeed totally inconceivable that you are writing about Indian art in Bangkok and Varsha is not featured in it in a big way. In fact, I did think about a blog about her couple of times, but did not get round to it. ' Varsha ' is a beautiful sanskrit word which creates an image of gentle drop of rain or flowers ( Pushpa varsha ). It can also be an unrestrained outpouring: an extravagant and sometimes excessive. ( Varsha Dhaara ). I think her parents were prescient in choosing this name for her. It is really difficult to capture the essence of her persona. Varsha gushes, rushes, expresses, declares, proclaims depending on what she is passionate about at the moment and all this is encompassed in her name itself. We met Varsha at an exhibition of paintings, which Samhita Arni had made for her book 'Mahabharata'. I liked the natural way she spoke English, and not surprising as s...

Tara had a unique opportunity on Tuesday the 2 nd October. UN has declared Mahatma Gandhi's Birthday as the 'International Day of Non-Violence'. Thus on, 2 October 2007, ESCAP in collaboration with the Embassy of India, Bangkok organised a function to commemorate this day. The Ambassador of India kindly asked Tara to sing two Bhajan's (Inspirational hymns) which were favourites of the Mahatma. It was organised at the United Nations conference centre. The UN building as you can expect is an impressive building and the facilities were excellent. It is easier to copy from the aesthetically designed programme to give you an idea of the day. 10:30 -11.00 hours Refreshments 10.45 hours Arrival of H.E. Mr. Mani Shankar Aiyar , Minister for Panchyat Raj, Youth Affairs and Sports and Development of North-eastern Region, Government of India and H.E. Ms. Latha Reddy , Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary and Permanent Representative of India to ESCAP . 11.00 -12.1...

We were treated to more Indian culture the last few weeks. They were two very high profile events and both enjoyable. (I am running a little late as my computer failed and I also took a break from blogging.) First was an event, showcasing Anuradha Pal and a group of women artists at the Thai cultural centre's larger auditorium. It was an important occasion, Bangkok’s 9th International Festival of Dance and Music, celebrating the 80th Birthday of His Majesty the King. The occasion was graced by the presence of HRH Princess of Thailand, Mahachakri Sirindon. Anuradha Pal is one of India’s leading and most innovative percussionists. Stree Shakti is an all-female Indian percussion ensemble. They performed using traditional percussion instruments like tabla, ghatam, mourching and mridangam.The percussionists and the accompanying sitar artist performed with enthusiasm and extremely well. It was enjoyable for its vigorous energy and its uniqueness as it was all women. Mourching was special...

Nidhi, Great job in depicting what we all felt . Cheers. Khalid ( Thanks Khalid!) I sent my blog, a pretty long one, across to friends hoping they would read and like it. I had said, 'This one was different, It was by the Amateurs who live in Bkk. Those of you who missed it can read about it! And those who were there would love, I hope, to read all about it!' Many responded and I think it is worth quoting the comments many friends made. Thanks again for all the nice comments about the blog. I am happy to have struck a chord in all of you and feel very encouraged! I am sure all the artists will love what Chitra said about the program. Thanks for sending me the blog on the musical function we had the other day. What can i say other than... its been a long time since i have enjoyed something like this ! All kudos to tara and the other ladies who organised and ran the programme to perfection. As i have lived outside of india for the last 28 yrs it has been difficult for me to see ...

 The TRIO, Tara, Gayathri and Viji teamed up to promote music, especially the Hindustani style in Bangkok. It was a pleasure to acknowledge their effort thru my blogs. I have just put it all together in one blog.  The first in this compilation totally reflects the scene of music in Bangkok.  We are all proud!   We had a wonderful experience on Saturday, 25th August. The invitation card The Embassy of India had sent us promised us an unique programme and so it was!  The concert titled  ' India's Musical Heritage - A tribute to the Great Poet Saints'  was arranged to celebrate the  60th Anniversary of India's Independence  and also the  60th anniversary of    India-Thai diplomatic relations .  During its wonderful moments, one felt what it was to be an Indian and acknowledge how music has helped to hold us together as a nation these 60 years! Music has truly created a consciousness of our being 'Indian' throu...