BOSTON: Shadaj and SPK Academy arranged a unique event featuring music appreciation session followed by a concert on Friday evening, April 29 at India Center, Shrewsbury.
Hundreds of classical music lovers gathered in traditional Indian attire to enjoy the evening with Ustad Shahid Parvez’s Sitar vadan accompanied by Amit Kavthekar on Tabla and Sutapa Sengupta on Tanpura.
This event was presented in the memory of Ustad Alla Rakha, a well-known Indian tabla player who popularized the art of tabla by playing across the globe with popular artists like Ravi Shankar, Mickey Hart-a rock n ‘rolls percussionist and Buddy Rich- a jazz drummer. He also bridged the gap between Carnatic and Hindustani music by playing with both renowned Carnatic and Hindustani musicians.
Gauri Chandna welcomed warmly the audience at the concert. She introduced all the artists of the concert with their brief bio-sketch highlighting their specialty and achievements. In the first part of the concert Ustad Shahid Parvez presented raga Puriya Kalyan in the conversation form on the Gayaki Ang.
The second half of the concert consisted of Sitar vadan by Ustad Parvez. The main raga was Puriya Kalyan and the concluding piece was Shiddha Bhairavi.
Shadaj and Rajesh Godbole were thanked for their organization skills; Shailesh Salgar for arranging a well-equipped sound system without any interruptions; Dr. Sudhakaran for his meticulous distribution of tickets and marketing services, Gauri Chandna for hosting the event and all the volunteers who gave their valuable time and services in decorating the stage and arranging the hall and making this event a grand success.
Gratitude was expressed to Mahesh Lachyankar and family for hosting all the artists along with invitees. At the end, everyone enjoyed delicious food prepared by Bollywood Grill of Shrewsbury.
Geeta Patil
