A classical fusion to mark India R-Day
dubai — A musical kaleidoscope, Des Raag, will bring the essence of India’s two classical music forms — Hindustani & Carnatic — to the UAE on the occasion of India’s 69th Republic Day (R-Day).
Organised by Malhaar Centre for Performing Arts, the event will blend music in contemporary style to celebrate India’s unity in diversity,
The base of this experimental musical evening will be in Raag Des, a musical note commonly used in songs to imbibe a sentimental patriotic feel.
Artists will also experiment evergreen compositions from yesteryears — Bharatbala’s Goonje Ban Kar Des Raag, traditional Sufi compositions from the Indian sub-continent and Academy Award winner A.R Rahman’s compositions.
The highlight of the evening would be the artist interpretation of India’s national song ‘Vande Mataram’ written by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay.
Artists in action
Jogiraj Sikidar: A Hindustani classical vocalist trained under stalwarts like Pandit Mani Prasad, Kankana Banerjee, Shikha Ganguly and Prof Rita Ganguli. Jogiraj has mastered the legendary style of Thumri rendition of the late Thumri queen Siddeswari Devi and Malka-e-Ghazal Begum Akhtar — a rare accomplishment for artists of his generation. Rajani Sridhar: A classical Carnatic music vocalist based in Dubai, Rajani has performed at Carnatic music concerts in India, Dubai, Egypt, Kuwait and Russia for over many years now. An accomplished public speaker, she has delivered lectures on Carnatic music at various universities.
Mahesh Raghavan: A Carnatic music fusion artist who is known for his experiments with classical music, with over 15 years training in Carnatic vocal music and keyboard. His experiments have gathered millions of views on social media. He is known for his contemporary take on Carnatic music. The tabla will be played by Bhushan Rao and mridangam by Sriraam Subbaraman