Renowned artists at Badrikashram silver jubilee

Pt. Habib Khan

FREMONT: Badrikashram located in San Leandro, CA. celebrated the completion of 25 years of service to the community in a very aesthetic way.

On June 21, the CET Hall in San Jose saw a humongous gathering of people from all walks of life, which enjoyed the performances of world renowned sitarist Pt. Habib Khan, besides famous vocalist Rita Sahai, and   the Kathak dancer Anuradha   Nag.

The august presence of Professor Jagdish Srivastava (Quantum Mathematics Statistics Colorado University) Swami Prabhudanandji (President Vedanta Society N.California) Swami Omkaranandji (Founder President Badrikashram) made the event very enlightening.

The four hour event started with the blessings of Swami Mangalanandaji, and Srimat Swami Prabhuddhanandaji. Pt. Habib Khan and his troupe invoked the presence of Lord Ganesh and Shiva in classical musical prayer; he is as much at ease with light classical and religious music as he is with pure classical renderings of raagas.

His enthralling rendering of raag Hemant Kalyan set in sixteen beats bought a resounding applause from the audience. Pt. Habib Khan is considered as one of the world's best sitarists. He lives in San Francisco where he runs his Musical Academy Gurukul.

Then the stage came alive with the delicate tinkling of ghungroos as Anuradha Nag and her students rendered Kathak performance.  Kathak dancers settled abroad look up to the great masters in India and want legitimacy from mainland India who else but from Pt.Birju Maharaj of Lucknow Gharana whose disciples are propagating Kathak dance in the USA which was till now a strong foothold of Bharatnatyam.

Delicate dance movements and deft footwork, twirling skirts told the katha of Lord Krishna and his raas with Radha. Graceful and co-ordinated dance movements of Anuradha and her students was awesome and left the audience wanting to see more of such performances.

Badrikashrama's two centers, in San Leandro, California and in Madihalli, Karnataka, India have for past twenty five years been places of peace and sanctity to thousands of people who participated in its many programs related to education and culture. Dedicated to the service of God in Humanity, the philosophic values of ashram have strong roots in Vedic faith.

The ashram encourages universal outlook stressing on devotion, selfless service and the application of spirituality in daily life through teaching practices that foster the knowledge of the self.

Educators, professionals, business entrepreneurs, students, all of them find themselves deeply involved with the ashram as they correlate themselves with ashram's approach toward life and belief in humanity, leading to sense of contentment and achievement.

The ashram has a very magnetic effect to all those who come in contact with Swami Omkaranandji whose simplicity and sincerity has touched the hearts and life of many people.

Through the support of the local community and an ongoing relationship with supporters in India, Swami Omkaranandji is building a steadfast foundation for Eastern and western cultural exchange and preservation of India's rich spiritual and cultural heritage.

Prof. Srivastava spoke briefly about spirituality, the highest activity we can undertake. It is above religion. Great philosophers and scientists like Einstein, Henry Thoreau and Aldous Huxley believed in Bhagwad Gita.

The evening ended with a superb performance by Rita Sahai and her troupe, by rendering various ragas in Hindustani classical music. 'Ode to Mother Earth' was sung by a big choir comprising men, women and children, the flawless singing of complicated ragas left everyone with awe and admiration.

Thanks for giving us a chance to spend Father's Day in such a culturally invigorating environment.