For the first time, Swara Samrat Festival, an annual music and dance event featuring prominent names from Hindustani and carnatic music and dance, will be held in the city. Following nine successful outings, the 10th edition of the festival features performances by Padma Shri awardees Bombay Jayashri, Malavika Sarukkai, and Venkatesh Kumar amongst others. The festival is the brainchild of Sangeet Natak Akademi award-winning sarod player Tejendra Narayan Majumdar, his wife and hindustani vocalist Dr. Manasi Majumdar, and their son Indrayuddh Majumdar, who is a sarod player. It is an homage to Tejendra’s guru, Swara Samrat Padma Vibhushan Ustad Ali Akbar Khan.
The renowned carnatic vocalist, Bombay Jayashri, gives us a peek into her forthcoming performance and her future projects.
Talking about the festival, the singer shares, “The Swara Samrat Festival will have an array of great artistes from across various art forms in classical music and dance. I have not decided beforehand on what I will be per forming but you can expect some of my signature carnatic renditions at the festival.”
When asked about her initiative, Hitham, which aims at bringing music to students in rural schools, she says, “I believe it is very important to share music with all and I have noticed that a lot of youngsters are interested in learning various classical forms of music.”
While the award-winning singer has worked wi th legendary names like Ilaiyaraaja and AR Rahman and performed across the globe, she shares that it is difficult to pick one experience or performance as the most memorable.
After her concert in the city, the singer has a busy schedule with events across the country and beyond, such as a show with Shobana in Kochi and performances at The Southbank Centre in London and The Tung Auditorium in Liverpool.
₹500 upwards. January 14 and 15, 4 pm. At Chowdiah Memorial Hall, Malleshwaram
alwin@newindianexpress.com
@al_ben_so