Virasat 2010 - Hindustani Vocal By Ustad Abdul Rashid Khan

Do you have any idea how old this singer is? And do you know he's part of a singing marathon here in Hyderabad tonight?



The Hyderabad Chapter of SPIC-MACAY (Society for Promotion of Indian Music And Culture Amongst Youth) is organising a festival of Indian classical music and dance, "Virasat 2010", from 7th to 17th August, at various venues in the city.



The 11-day festival will feature the following stalwarts - Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia, Pt. Vijay Ghate, Ustad Abdul Rashid Khan, Kavita Dwibedi, T V Sankaranarayanan, Mysore Brothers, Pt. Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Prof. Uday Bhawalkar, Dr. Teejan Bai, Dr. Nookala Chinasatyanarayana and D Balakrishna.



Senior Hindustani Vocalist Ustad Abdul Rashid Khan will be performing on 14th August, 11:30pm, at the DST Auditorium, University of Hyderabad.



Ustad Abdul Rashid Khan has been singing longer than anyone else in the country today. Born in 1908 into a family of illustrious musicians, he received training from stalwarts of the Gwalior gayaki. In spite of being over a century old, he seems to have defied ageing, and continues to perform.



He performs Khayal, Dhrupad, Dhamaar, Tirvat and Thumri styles, remembering intricate word chains and patterns that are rarely performed today. His vigour is such that he has regularly performed in the early morning at SPIC MACAY overnight concerts.



Ustadji is recognised as one of the greatest exponents of the Gwalior Gayaki. He has received many awards, including the Sangeet Natak Academy Award, the ITC award, and the Kashi Swar Ganga Award. He has had titles like 'Ras Sagar', 'Sangeet Maharishi', 'Sangeet Sartaz' and 'Bandish Samarat' bestowed upon him by various organisations across the country. He is currently the senior-most guru at the ITC Sangeet Research Academy in Kolkata.



SPIC MACAY is a voluntary, non-profit, apolitical and non-governmental student participatory movement founded in 1977. It aims to conserve and promote an awareness of Indian culture among the youth of India, through a focus on the classical arts.



SPIC-MACAY has chapters in over 300 towns and cities all over the world. It organizes concerts, lectures, demonstrations, informal discussions and seminars, all hosted by local chapters of the organization. The Hyderabad Chapter is one of them.



Entry to the concerts is free, and is on a first-come-first-served basis. Please contact Lata Mani at 93475-53161 or Ashish at 94901-22248 for further details.