Jugalbandi By Dr. Balamuralikrishna & Ajoy Chakraborty: Events in Hyderabad

REVIEW FOR JUGALBANDI BY DR. BALAMURALIKRISHNA...

The Chowmahalla Palace Board is organising a five-day music and dance festival from 29th October to 2nd November, at the Chowmahalla Palace. The five- day festival, called the Chowmahalla Mubarak - A Celebration Of Living Heritage, will feature several eminent musicians and dancers, including Dr. Mangalampalli Balamurali Krishna, Vikku Vinayakram, Ajay Chakraborthy, Hariharan, Shallu Jindal, the Devan Drone Group, and students of Vipanchee Natayalaya.

On 1st November, the penultimate day of the festival, the evening will end with a jugalbandi by Dr. Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna and Ajoy Chakraborty.

Dr. Balamuralikrishna is a pioneer in the field of both vocal and instrumental music. A multi-faceted personality, he has been involved in music in its various forms - as a singer, a music director, an actor and even an instrumentalist. He has attained mastery over instruments like veena, violin, viola, mridangam and kanjira.

Dr. Balamuralikrishna has contributed more than 400 compositions to the field of Carnatic music. He is also credited with the conception of several new musical scales. Mahati, Sumukham, Trisakthi, Sarvashri, Omkari, Janasamodini, Manorama, Rohini, Vallabhi, Lavangi, Pratimadhyamavathi and Sushama are some of the ragas created by him. He is one of few singers who have perfect control in all three octaves.

Dr. Balamuralikrishna has been conferred with innumerable honors and awards, including the Padma Vibhushan and the Padmasri, and the UNESCO Mahatma Gandhi Silver Medal.

Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty is one of the most reknowned vocal musicians of his generation. His father Ajit Chakrabarty initiated him early into singing and thereafter over-saw his training under Kanaidas Bairagi, Pandit Jnan Prakash Ghosh and Ustad Munawar Ali Khan. He is the foremost exponent of the Patiala Gharana (tradition) of vocal music, in the lineage of the great Bade Ghulam Ali Khan.

He was awarded the gold medals in the B A (Honors) and M A examinations of the Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata. Currently, he is a guru of the ITC Sangeet Research Academy, which he had joined in 1977 as the first research scholar. In 1993, his deep interest in propagating music among children prompted him to begin Shrutinandan, a non-profit society that offers a holistic approach to the teaching of music to young people.

Entry is by passes available at the venue for free. Please contact Vasudevan at 98498-74574 for further details.