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The Udupa Music Festival, which was launched successful 2016, is nary longer conscionable a solemnisation of euphony but espouses the origin of the mentally and physically challenged. Presented by the Udupa Foundation, started by ghatam artiste Giridhar Udupa successful 2015, the three-day lawsuit volition beryllium held astatine Chowdiah Memorial Hall, Bengaluru, from February 20 to 22.
The festival opens with a vocal recital by Begum Parveen Sultana with Ravindra Katoti connected the harmonium and Ojas Adhiya connected the tabla. The evening continues with a sitar recital by Purbayan Chatterjee, besides accompanied by Ojas Adhiya connected the tabla.
On February 21, audiences volition beryllium treated to a talavaadya kutcheri, featuring vidwan Thiruvaarur Bakthavathsalam connected the mridangam, Naveen Sharma connected the dholak, and Vijay Shamrao Chavan connected the dholki. Later that evening, Ranjani and Gayatri volition contiguous a vocal recital, accompanied by Charumathi Raghuraman connected the violin, Sai Giridhar Kuchibhotla connected the mridangam, and Vazhapally R. Krishnakumar connected the ghatam.
The festival concludes connected February 22 with a fusion concert, featuring Pt Vishwa Mohan Bhatt connected the Mohana veena, Shashank Subramanyam connected the flute, Sivaramakrishnan connected vocals, Darshan Doshi connected the drums, Sheldon D’Silva connected the bass guitar, and Manjunatha Sattyasheel connected the drums and percussion.
“The festival is an yearly fundraising event, alternating betwixt the Udupa Music Festival and the Udupa Dance Festival. While I curate the euphony edition, the creation portion is curated by my woman and Bharatanatyam dancer Sandhya Udupa,” says Giridhar.
The instauration is simply a tribute to his father, vidwan Ullur Nagendra Udupa, a mridangist and “my archetypal guru. His wellness has been deteriorating since 2012, and implicit the years, helium stopped performing oregon adjacent stepping retired of the home. Yet, erstwhile I practise, helium reacts. That is erstwhile I told myself that determination are truthful galore radical similar my begetter confined to their beds. Hence we decided to instrumentality the concerts to them: homes, hospitals, and attraction centres.”
A performance astatine Karunashraya Hospice Trust | Photo Credit: Courtesy: Udupa Foundation
Giridhar has organised implicit 170 concerts to day crossed palliative attraction centres successful Bengaluru, crab hospitals, old-age homes, homes for the mentally challenged and authorities schools. “Through these charitable concerts, we supply a level for young musicians from crossed Karnataka. To promote them, the artistes besides get paid for their performances. To proceed this ngo we request the funds, which we rise done the euphony and creation festivals,” helium shares.
Performing astatine hospitals and attraction centres has been “a profoundly moving experience. While we acceptable up a signifier for the artistes, our audiences present are bound to wheelchairs and beds. Music calms and heals the caput and heart,” says Giridhar, whose latest performance was astatine Karunashraya-Bangalore Hospice Trust.
Giridhar credits his begetter for shaping his philharmonic journey. “He gave maine wings to research genres. I person collaborated with Hindustani and jazz and has embraced each benignant of music,” says Giridhar, who began grooming successful mridangam astatine the property of 4 nether his father, and aboriginal continued learning from Sukanya Ramgopal and V. Suresh.
In fact, it was his begetter who suggested that Giridhar larn to play the ghatam, which became “the turning point” successful his life. By the clip Giridhar was nine, helium was accompanying his begetter successful concerts, and successful 1997 helium became a subordinate of Layatharanga, an all-percussive set blending Indian classical, people and satellite music, alongside Arun Kumar, Pramath Kiran, Ravichandra Kulur, and Jayachandra Rao. He has besides accompanied stalwarts including L. Subramaniam, M. Balamuralikrishna, Mandolin Shrinivas, Bombay Jayashri and Sudha Raghunathan.
Recalling his relation with Ustad Zakir Hussain, Giridhar says, “The tabla fable performed astatine the inaugural performance of the Udupa Foundation and the precise archetypal variation of the Udupa Music Festival successful 2015. Though Zakirbhai was blessed that I launched the foundation, helium advised maine to ne'er halt performing oregon practising. I beryllium him a lot.”
He besides acknowledges the encouragement of mridangam exponent Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman, and the guidance of the Udupa Foundation’s advisory committee comprising Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, R.K. Padmanabha, Sukanya Ramgopal, Mysore M. Nagaraj, Mysore Manjunath, A. Sivamani, Bombay Jayashri and Stephen Devassy.
Giridhar’s emotion for jazz has besides led to collaborations that person extended beyond borders, including moving with Berlin-based physics instrumentalist Sam Shackleton, producing his ain album My Name is Giridhar Udupa, and sharing the signifier with John McLaughlin, which helium calls “one of the astir iconic moments.”
The Udupa Music Festival, existent to its format, dedicates each of its 3 days to a genre — Carnatic, Hindustani and jazz oregon fusion. For Giridhar, the favoritism betwixt accompanist and soloist is fluid, arsenic helium explains: “As an accompanist, you larn the nuances of euphony endlessly. As a soloist, you research rhythm’s universality. Carnatic bushed is truthful blase that it adapts to immoderate genre. In the end, it’s not astir the instrumentality — but astir music.”
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