Dear Friends,
I am delighted to invite those of you who are in Bangalore to the formal launch of the Archive of Indian Music (AIM) on
10th May 2013 at
6 PM by His Excellency Dr H R Bhardwaj, Governor of Karnataka at the
Alliance de Francaise, Vasanthnagar. . Chief Patron of the Archive Mr. TV Mohandas Pai, Mr Chiranjiv Singh, former Chief Secretary of Karnataka and Mr Umesh Ganjam would be the guests of honour.
The launch is accompanied by a unique Audio Exhibition titled "
Voices of India" and would be on for a week thereafter, from 10th evening to 17th May 2013, 10 AM- 7 PM. The event is presented by
Ganjam which has always played a pivotal role in promoting classical music.
'Voices of India' presents a sample of the kind of treasure trove that the Archive has in its possession and truly represents the diverse voices of the country. All these were recorded during the Gramophone era, right from the first recording artist Gauhar Jaan in 1902 till the 1950s. From the pristine voices and divine instruments of classical music stalwarts like Abdul Karim Khan, Kesarbai Kerkar, Narayanrao Vyas, Gangubai Hangal, Bangalore Nagarathnamma, M S Subbulakshmi, Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar, Veena Dhanammal, GNB, Mali and Chowdiah and others to the rustic lilting folk tunes of Tamil Kavadi Chindu, Bengali, Rajasthani, Chattisgarhi, Bhojpuri and Punjabi folk; from the theatre music of Bal Gandharva’s Marathi theatre to Kannada and Gujrati theatre; the cinematic geniuses K L Saigal, MK Thyagaraja Bhagavathar, Sundarabai of Pune and P Leela to the first recording of the National Anthem by the Vishwa Bharati chorus, devotional songs and Qawwalis/Ghazals, speeches by Mahatma Gandhi, Subhash Chandra Bose and H H Aga Khan III and poetry recitations by Rabindranath Tagore & Kazi Nazrul Islam-----it provides a kaleidoscope of the rich aural inheritance of our country.
After Bangalore the Exhibition moves to other cities like Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata & Mumbai over the next 5 months.
I would be grateful if friends from Bangalore could kindly send me a confirmation of their attendance to
vikram.sampath@gmail.com
Look forward to seeing you there,
Warm regards
Vikram.