For lovers of Indian music, there is no greater thrill than to be treated to concerts by renowned Indian artists. Indian immigrants living in New England might consider themselves exceptionally lucky in this regard, as the region serves as a popular venue for performances by touring marquee names from the sub-continent.
Several organizations have either established roots or have a presence in this area, aiming to serve the Indian community. Examples include the New England Tamil Sangam, Gujarati Association of New England, New England Malayalee Association, MIT’s Heritage of the Arts of South Asia, and Chinmaya Mission Boston. (A more complete listing of Indian associations in New England can be found on www.iagb.org.) These organizations strive to bring well-known performers from India for concerts, in their quest to keep the many vibrant facets of Indian culture alive for immigrants.
The result of all this activity, of course, is a bounty of music performances in the summer and fall! The 2010 season so far has seen the likes of Prince Rama Varma, singer Bombay Jayasree, Bollywood singer Shankar Mahadevan, national award-winning singer Chitra and Oscar winner A.R. Rahman. While Chitra delighted the audience with her rendition of popular songs from Malayalam and Tamil movies, Prince Rama Varma (literally a Prince from Kerala), with his deft execution of some gems in Carnatic music, was able to make classical music accessible and entertaining! The Boston area also served recently as one of the 16 major worldwide venues in the “Jai Ho Tour” by Academy Award and Grammy winning musician A.R. Rahman, of “Slumdog Milliionaire” fame. Dubbed as “Undeniably Spectacular”, this was a dazzling theatrical production showcasing some of this musician’s most popular songs in a way that had not been witnessed by Indian music lovers before.
Although A.R. Rahman and his “Jai Ho” tour have moved on to other venues, it is not too late for those interested in sampling superb Indian classical music. Some well-known names in their field, listed below, are scheduled to perform in New England during the remainder of the season.
Ms. Ranjani and Ms. Gayatri – Carnatic Vocal, October 10
Pandit Ronu Majumdar - Flute, Dr. Mysore Manjunath – Carnatic Violin, October 31
Zakir Hussain –Tabla, Niladri Kumar – Sitar, November 6
Pandit Nayan Ghosh – Sitar, November 28
More information at www.mithas.org, www.zevents.com.
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