Panchtatva - Fusion Music Concert: Events in Hyderabad

REVIEW FOR PANCHTATVA - FUSION MUSIC...

The concert of the week, month, and perhaps year. In the venue of the city. If you love music, this will be a memory of a lifetime.

The Annual Golconda Cultural starts on 28th April, at the Taramati Baradari. This year's edition of the fest will have three programs on day one and two programs on day two. Noted musicians like city lad Karunya, flautist Pandit Ronu Mazumdar, violinist Kumaresh Ganesh, saxophonist Kadiri Gopalnath, percussionist Taufiq Qureshi, the Wadali Brothers and Begum Parveen Sultana will perform during the 2-day event, which also features a Hindi comedy play, Taj Mahal Ka Tender.

Today, the opening day, Panchatatva, a fusion music concert, is being organised by Pandit Ronu Mazumdar on the flute, Kumaresh and Ganesh on the violin, Taufiq Qureshi with the percussion, and Kadiri Gopalnath with the saxophone. Panchatatva, otherwise called the Panchabhootas, are the five elements that the world is made up of. They are the Earth (Bhoomi), the Water (Jal), the Air (Vayu), the Fire (Agni) and the Sky (Aakash). Each of the elements will be represented by one each of the artistes.

Ronu Majumdar was born in Varanasi, and was initiated into the art of flute-playing by his father, Dr. Bhanu Majumdar, a gifted flautist. Later, Ronu received valuable guidance from Pandit Laxman Prasad Jaipurwale, a legendary vocalist. Pandit Vijay Raghav Rao, a scholar and a well-respected performer, groomed Ronu into a concert flautist. Expert guidance, hard work and natural talent enabled Ronu to establish himself as one of the most accomplished exponents of his instrument and a fine concert artist.

A native of Dakshina Kannada, Kadiri Gopalnath was born in 1950. Music was part of his daily routine as his father Thaniappa was a nadaswaram vidwan of Pane Mangelore, and so Kadiri began training in the nagaswaram at an early age. He once happened to see the saxophone being played in the Mysore Palace Band Set. Thrilled at the vibrant tone of the instrument, he decided to master it. It took him 20 years to conquer the complex instrument wing, and he was eventually crowned Saxophone Chakravarthy. He has toured the world for invitational concerts.

Taufiq is the youngest son of the legendary tabla wizard Ustad Alla Rakha, and brother of world famous tabla maestro Ustad Zakir Hussain. His guru and primary inspiration to date remains his illustrious father. His major influences in the world of rhythm have been Ustad Alla Rakha, Ustad Zakir Hussain, Buddy Rich, Billy Cobham, Aeirto Morreiro, Giovanni Hidalgo and Tito Pointe.

Ganesh and Kumaresh - the ace violin duo of Carnatic Music - hit the headlines in 1972 with their very first stage appearance at the ages of 7 and 5 respectively. Over 3 decades hence, the brothers have more than lived up to the promise they showed at that debut, carving a niche for themselves in a field where violin playing has been taken to heights of international excellence by great Carnatic maestros.

Trained by their father Rajagopalan, an excellent artiste in his own right, Ganesh and Kumaresh completed their 100th stage appearance before the younger brother was 10 years of age. They are the youngest violinists to be recognized by the All-India Radio as A-top ranking artistes. Kalaimamani, Sunaadha Sironmani, Sangeetha Saragnya and the Dwaram Venkata Swami Naidu Award are some of the many titles that have been heaped on them.

The entry tickets are priced at Rs. 200 per head for the day's events. For further details, please contact APTDC at 2326-2151 or the venue at 2352-0172/2352-1884.