Musical odyssey: Indian maestros give Dubai a taste of classical melodies

It will be a night where music, dance, art and poetry will transpire in a creative marriage with two of India’s living legends as they embark on an ‘Inner Voyage’ that Dubai residents have never witnessed before.

The masterful sarode maestro Ustad Aashish Khan – son of musical genius Ali Akbar Khan – who has collaborated with greats such as Ringo Starr and George Harrison of The Beatles, along with Eric Clapton, will perform with tabla legend Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri on June 28 in an amalgamation of sound and melody.

Organised by Heart & Soul Events, this Indian classical fusion concert will be held at the Dubai Women’s College of Higher Technology Campus Theatre, Dubai, on Friday evening with proceeds from the event to raise money for The Angel Appeal, a charitable organisation for seafarers in Dubai.

Talking about his performance on the night, Khan said: “This will be my first concert in Dubai and the kind of music that will take centrestage dates back to 16th century India, when Taansen performed in the legendary courts.

 “That music has been passed down generations in my family.”

The Maihar gharana (which is also known as the womb of Indian classical music and is largely responsible for taking Indian classical music to the West) is renowned for giving the world many artistes such as Asha Bhonsle, Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Pandit Nikhil Banerjee, Pandit Panna Lal Ghosh and even the globally renowned Pandit Ravi Shankar, who is also Ustad Ashish Khan's uncle.

Speaking of taking the traditional sounds into the future, Chaudhuri admitted the burden lay at their door.

“The present generation is moving towards a different sound, which isn’t classical or traditional. As a musician and teachers what you listen to today is now, frankly a headache,” he admitted.

Khan didn’t mince words to add: “I blame Bollywood. People have taken talen to the wrong direction. I also blame the parents who don’t teach their kids the fine arts, but are more interested in chasing the spotlight on these dance and music reality shows.

“People now mimic the classical sounds, calling it fusion. I call it confusion.”

Also performing on the night will be artistes such as Arijit Tagore, Dishari Chakraborty and Shiraz Ali Khan on tabla, santoor and sarod, respectively.

The curtain raiser of this concert will be a scintillating dance recital by Sohini Roy Chowdhury and her multinational dance troupe 'Sohini Moksha', which will shine the spotlight on ‘Flamenco Natyam’ a dance that combines two genres of dance, the Spanish Flamenco with traditional Bharatnatyam.

Speaking about this unique combination, Chaudhuri said: “The Spanish culture, temperament and dance form shares a close proximity with Indian rhythm.

“There is that same level of passion that saw these two varied cultures connect. This has probably to do with the fact that the Gypsies, who brought the flamenco dance form to Spain had originated from India.”

While the dramatic dance moves unfold on stage, celebrated artiste, Subodh Potdar, will sketch live, attempting to capture the moves and grace on canvas.

“I don’t know what I will create on the night, but I will let the music and the dance weave its way onto my canvas,” he said.

Potdar’s record of creating a painting in 17 seconds could very well be beaten.

Quizzed whether he would sell his works post performance and he said: “The first one will be auctioned, with the money going to The Angel Appeal. The rest can be sold, yes.”

UAE poet Dr Shihab Ghanem will also be felicitated during the concert for being the first poet from the Arab world to receive the prestigious 2013 Tagore award.