There are many beliefs about Lord Shiva and his night of Maha Shivratri, one of our favourites is that this is the night of Lord Shiva’sCosmic Dance of the Ananda Tandava (Dance of Bliss). May his Grace bless you in these days and the dance of bliss extend to all fellow Brothers and Sisters of our Beautiful Planet.
The significance of the Nataraja sculpture is said to be that Siva is shown as the source of all movement within the cosmos, represented by the arch of flames. The purpose of the dance is to release men from illusion, and the place where it is said to have been performed, Chidambaram, called the centre of the universe, is in reality within the heart. The gestures of the dance represent Siva’s five activities (pañcakrtya): creation (symbolized by the drum), protection (by the “fear-not” pose of the hand), destruction (by the fire), embodiment (by the foot planted on the ground), and release (by the foot held aloft).
The eminent Indian Music and arts organisation, Darbar, have just announced their line up for this years impressive Darbar festival.
The festival encompasses North and South Indian music traditions, along with film exhibitions, free workshops and a chance to meet and discuss with some of the artists.
A veritable feast of Classical Indian Musicians will resonate their marvellous music in the city of London for the main body of the events, from 1st – 4th April 2010. No doubt the city is blessed to have such a dazzling array of stars in its midst and I heartily encourage anyone with an interest in the magic of music to attend any of these excellent performances.
With such esteemed heavyweight musicians such as as Shiv Kumar Sharma (Santoor), Anindo Chatterjee (Tabla) and the Gundecha Brothers (Dhrupad Vocal) the line up is drenched in promise. Lesser know but no less talented appearances from artists such as the Canartic vocal duo Ranjani & Gayatri are sure to captivate British audiences and leave them spellbound. The magical tones of Kaushal Das on Sitar are also sure to delight the listener and reveal nuances of music that will illuminate and enthrall. I have blogged many times about the great Indian Classical Music festivals such as Dover Lane Conference in Kolkata or Dhrupad Mela in Varanasi, but this really is the closet thing we are going to get this side of the Indian Ocean.
The line-up is listed here with more details below:-
Festival elements…
Carnatic vocal and instrumental | North Indian Hindustani vocal | Dhrupad | Western Operatic | Free Workshops | Audience with the artists | Films | Mini-concerts | Concerts throughout the day
The line-up…
Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma | Patricia Rozario | Veena Sahasrabuddhe | Rohan de Saram | Dhruba Ghosh | Bhupinder Chaggar | Hari Sivanesan | T Pirashanna | Kousic Sen | Satyajit Talwalkar | Dharambir Singh | Sunil Kant Gupta | Shahbaz Hussain | Ranjani and Gayatri | Jyotsna Srikanth | H. S. Sudhindra | Sanju Sahai | Kushal Das | Pandit Anindo Chatterjee | Ravi Shankar Upadhay | A K Palanivel | Rajhesh Vaidhya | Arun Prakash | Anirudh Athreya | Pandit Venkatesh Kumar | Soumik Datta | Neyveli Venkatesh | Gundecha Brothers
The annual Dover Lane Music Conference in Kolkata, India is the citys’ most prominent music gathering. The next festival in January 2010 will be the 58th year of this incredible festival which takes place from 22nd to 26th January at Nazrul Mancha on Rabindra Sarobar. It lasts up to six nights from 8pm every evening till dawn and is a must for any Indian Classical music aficionado. Up to 4000 people of all ages gather each night to witness a veritable Who’s Who of the classical music scene with most, if not all of India’s topmost musicians playing there over it’s incredible history.
Ashirvad will be previewing their new album at dates planned in Spain and London.
Association Cultural Furthur have invited us to spread the love vibrations at their magic multi-cultural festival just outside Madrid at the end of this month. Their beautiful energy will guarantee a cosmic weekend. 3 Daze of magic gathering with Live Acts, Djs, Vjs, Swimming pool, Chai, Market, Restaurant,Camping Area, Beds & Showers, Circus, Theatre, Organic-art, Workshops, Ambient Lectures and more…
Date :September 27th – 29th 2009
Venue : La Chopera, Madrid
At Inspiral Lounge, London, Sangita Sounds present Ashirvad, a kaleidoscopic musical mandala of sonic nectar. Join us for a celebration in sound fusing and innovating in the traditions of Bengali dub, ambient raga, indian folk, devotional & classical music and psychedelic electronica.
The Bindoo Babas are appearing at this years Big Green Gathering festival. Having just played a succesful round of sets at the magical Buddhafield gathering, they are well prepared to make another return to the UK festival scene. With their longtime keyboard and sax players, Assi Rose and Gilbert Iche joining them them for the first time in 2 years from Israel and Germany, you can be sure of a return to form. This year also sees their longtime cosmic cohort Mrgapati das join them on drums. Big up the Bindoo Babas.
Catch them at the Croissant Neuf on Fri and Small World solar powered stage on Sat & Sun.
The Palestine Film Foundation present the 10th London Palestine Film Festival. A marvellous collection of films and live sessions with Directores and Scholars. At Sangita Sounds we enjoy art and culture, and we feel that storytelling and documentation as witness to the truth is an important part of the Peace Process which must occur on the Path of Reconciliation.
We would like to share news of what is probably the best English Folk Festival. The Small World crew, family and friends know how to celebrate life in this fun, family weekend Festival in Kent. From swingin Gypsy Jazz to deepest Celtic Dub, the Small World experience is a natural kaleidoscopic trip into music and good vibes. Book your tickets now as this small and intimate experience is always popular.
A five day festival of creative spirit & sustainable living. Powered by the wind and sun.
Held on a beautiful site deep in Kent. Intimate, intense, warm and coulourful, the way festival goers love. Small and safe so parents and childern can relax and have fun. A sustainable community celebrating the sheer joy of creativity, trust and love. An intoxicating blend of performers, artists, healers, craftspeople, colourful characters, jesters, magicians, families and party people. Reducing our carbon footprint can be a pleasure not a burden.
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