Posted By

Tags

A rare treat of mixed genres on the cards

Venkat Raman – 

If you have purchased tickets to be a part of the ‘Global Indian Project’ being executed at the turn of the month, you would then undoubtedly be inspired by a pleasant young man playing six different percussion instruments.

Rather than the result of cloning, the interesting presentation would be the result of disciplined learning and practice for at least a decade.

Hands-on instruments

Ravi Nyayapati, known to audiences across New Zealand as a soft-spoken Master of Ceremonies and ‘Dholak’ player (known to this reporter as the younger son of veteran journalist NVR Swami) will be a highlight of the Programme scheduled to be held at the Blockhouse Bay Community Centre, 524, Blockhouse Bay Road on Saturday, July 25, 2015 from 630 pm.

African connection

Born in India but raised and educated in Zimbabwe where his father was the Bureau Chief of the Press Trust of India (PTI), Ravi is in many ways the chip of the old block and competes (compares?) well with his older brother Vijay in IT skills. A Project Management and an independent consultant, his networking and connectivity have reaped rich dividends.

Ravi showed proclivities towards music at an early age, but it was not until he was 20 years old that he had an opportunity to make a beginning.

“Indian music teachers were scarce (among other things) in Africa,” he said.

Propitious start

For Web Edition-A rare treat of mixed genres- CollageBut he did not have to wait long to become an achiever in Tabla (of Punjab Gharana following), since he came under the tutelage of Christopher Hamlin, a renowned Tabla player.

Focusing on Bhajans and Ghazals, Ravi gradually began to evince interest on other instruments that posed a challenge.

Dholak was once such. It is a great instrument in the hands of an able percussionist, the proof of which would be at Blockhouse Bay Community Centre on July 25.

“Side-rhythm gives completeness to non-Classical musical arrangements. It also provides a unique sense of satisfaction,” he said.

From anchoring to instrumental performance has enabled Ravi to understand various schools of performers and when an opportunity arose to establish ‘Sargam Fusion’ early this year, he grabbed it with enthusiasm.

“Sargam Fusion shifts the paradigm of stereo-type Bollywood concerts,” he said.

Ravi Nyayapati writes

For Web Edition-A rare treat of mixed genres-Ravi NyayapatiThe by-line of Ravi Nyayapati appears regularly in Indian Newslink with his expert comments on sports but the fact that is proficient in general reporting is evident from the following.

Sargam Fusion aims to bring the power of Indian music to audiences. The artistes will demonstrate how Indian Classical and Bollywood music blend into a variety of Eastern and Western music styles, and how Indian music has enhanced global melodies.

The group will present a rare treat mixing a variety of genres in their renditions, ranging from Sufi, Jazz, Opera, Indian Carnatic Classical, Folk, Western Rock, Indian Hindustani Classical, Bollywood, Reggae and Arabic music.

The Performers

Through a number of instruments such as Tabla, Dholak, Keyboard, Mandolin, Guitar, Drums, Djembe, Ghatam and Percussions, the Group will also demonstrate how Indian Classical instrumentation can seamlessly blend with Eastern and Western music styles, and add enriched value to different genres of music.

Among the performers are Akhil Madhur (Tabla), Akhila Puthigae, Ashish Ramakrishnan (Vocal), Basant Madhur (Tabla), Ratna Venkat (Dance), Ravi Nyayapati (Dholak), Rushabh Trivedy (Piano), Saketh Vishnubhotla (Ghatam, Guitar and Mandolin), Shirley Setia (Vocal) and Swap Gomez (Drums).

A little known fact about the lead vocalists Ashish and Akhila, is that apart from doing Indian music, Ashish also performs at several Gospel concerts, and Akhila is a trained Opera singer. These two artistes, along with a talented bunch of musicians will be bringing their own culture and experience into a unified product by collaborating and creating new music.

The show not only features individual virtuosity, but above all, depth and emotion, as the audience gets immersed in the inner soul of music or lifted through moments of fusion.

 

What:  The Global Indian ProjectWho:   Sargam School of Indian Music

Where: Blockhouse Bay Community Centre

              524 Blockhouse Bay Road, Auckland

When: Saturday, July 25 at 630 pm

Tickets: $15 per person

Contact: Basant Madhur on (09) 6262646 or 021-0357954

                Email: basant_madhur@ihug.co.nz

 

Photo:

We promise you, Ravi Nyayapati looks the same!

Share this story

Related Stories

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Indian Newslink

Previous slide
Next slide

Advertisement

Previous slide
Next slide

Advertisement

Previous slide
Next slide

Advertisement

Previous slide
Next slide

Advertisement

Previous slide
Next slide

Advertisement

Advertisement

Previous slide
Next slide

Advertisement

Previous slide
Next slide

Advertisement

Previous slide
Next slide

Advertisement