leher leher kabir - yogi arwind foundation
TRANSCRIPT
The Venue
This is the serene Ram Jhula locale in Rishikesh where the foundation is situated!
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Leher Leher Kabir
is an event organised by
The Yogi Arwind Foundation
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This event is
A unique music concert with soul
A never-before-experienced fusion of
music, dance and visuals
enriched with spiritual fragrance
on the banks of the mighty Ganga in the Himalayas
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Leher Leher Kabiris
a heartwarming, multi-stage extravaganza
a fusion of music, modern dance, poetry and visuals
a spectacular event that will touch the soul a presentation by internationally acclaimed
virtuoso before the culture-rich Indian and
international audience
The Venue
Venue: Shatrughna Mandir Ghat, Near Ram Jhula, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand
on 9th April 2011, 6.00 PM
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The Hrishikesh Ghat by night!
Singing Kabir:
Padmabhushan Pt. Channulal MishraPadmashri Vasundhara komkali
Kalapini komkali
Singing Kabir:
Padmashri Smt. Shubha Mudgal &
Special performance by
Padmashri Shri. Astad Deboo, Modern Dance Exponent
Singing Kabir:
Folk singing
Padmashri Prahlad Singh Tipaniya and his troupe
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artist’s visualisation
Rishikesh by the day
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artist’s visualisation
Advantages
Highlights
First-of-it’s-kind event on Kabir
An unparalleled experience on the banks of Ganga
Appealing to a modern day international audience
Media interest generated pre and post the event
Expected Audience
Expected audienceMore than 2500 Kabir lovers
Spiritual leaders & YogisArtists & Music Lovers
TouristsDiplomats & Expats
Corporate HeadsYoung Professionals
StudentsPress & Media
others
Social and Charitable Cause
Lehar Lehar Kabir is committed to supporting the ‘Clean The Ganga’ Project
’Young Kabir Award’ for budding poets and artists will be chosen out of a competition
to create awareness about life and works of Kabir
Creating a platform for spreading awareness of social causes
Existing partners for the event
JCT LimitedIndian City Properties Limited (ICPL)
Yog CapitalSanosil Biotech
BiogeticaKingfisher
…and by the time you read this, there are more added to the list!
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On the anvil
This will be an annual event
To be held on various river banks in india
Slated to travel abroad for international audience
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Artists for Lehar Lehar Kabir
An introduction
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Padmabhushan Pt. Channulal Mishra
Pandit Channulal Mishra is a Hindustani classical singer from Banaras. A noted expotent of the Kirana gharana (school) of the Hindustani classical music and especially the Khayal and the ‘Purab Ang’ Thumri. He has been awarded the ‘Shiromani Award’ of Sur Singar Sansad, Mumbai;Uttar Pradesh Sangeet Natak Akademi Award; Naushad Award of U.P. Govt., and the Bihar Sangeet Shiromani Award. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan, India’s third highest civilian honour,in 2010.
Pt. Channulalji, born on 3rd August 1936 in Hariharpur, Azamgarh district of Uttar Pradesh,. His grandfather, “Gudai Maharaj” Shanta Prasad was a noted tabla player. He started his musical education from his father,Badri Prasad Mishra, which was later continued with ‘Ustad Abdul Ghani Khan’ of Kirana gharana. Later he trained under Thakur Jaidev Singh.
Today, he is considered one of India’s finest exponents in presenting a unique blend of the Banaras gayaki and the Punjabi gayaki, in his khyal, dadra, thumri, chaiti, kajri, hori and bhajans.
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Padmashri Vasundhara Komkali
Vasundhara Komkali has been regarded as one of India’s leading classical vocalist of the Gwalior gharana. Under the expert tutelage of Pt. Kumar Gandharva she has received training in Indian classical music. She was also trained by Dr B R Deodhar, a doyen of Gwalior Gharana and a disciple of Pt. Paluskar. Today she has earned a prominent place in the arena of Indian classical music for herself.
Vasundhara Komkali was born in 1931 in Calcutta. Her musical career started taking shape when she came to Bombay in 1946. There she underwent training under Dr B R Deodhar. She got married to her guru Pt. Kumar Gandharva. She started accompanying him during his recitals as a supporting vocalist. Vasundhara Komkali also used to help Pt. Kumar Gandharva in conceiving as well as creatting themes like Geet Varsha, Geet Hemant, Geet Vasant, Rituraj Mehfil, Triveni, Surdas, Tulsidas Darshan, Mala Umajlele Balgandharva.
Audiences have always been mesmerized with her extremely melodious and potent voice. Her taankari, sound refinement and her selection of compositions are the reflection of Pt. Kumar Gandharva’s gayaki. In the domain of Classical music Vasundhara Komkali is honored as Sangeet Praveen.
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Kalapini komkali Kalapini is the daughter and disciple of legendary Pt. Kumar Gandharva and Vidushi Vasundhara Komkali. Besides inheriting the creativity and reflection, she also had the privilege of learning the technique and grammar of her art from her distinguished parents.Endowed with a wholly original, melodious and extremely rich voice, Kalapini is widely recognized as one of the finest and well-veined classical vocalists of the younger generation. With the legacy at hand, she has evolved her own vision and has emerged in last decade as avocalist of sensitivity and intensity. Her performances are marked by youthful imagination, artistic thoughtfulness, and mature command over various aspects of classical vocalism. Her musical lineage is most evident in the central emphasis on bandish (composition), its meaning or bhava and in the studied restraint which does not allow the notes or laya (tempo) to overwhelm the lyric. The full melodic range and capability of the voice are hinted at but never allowed to dominate by sliding into vocal acrobatics. Her range of swaras has the ability to convey various bhavas (emotions), her upaj (improvisations) are generally rooted in Gwalior gayaki but carry her own stamp. Kalapini's wide repertoire of ragas and compositions is further supplemented by presentation of the folkloric songs of Malwa region, and Sagun-Nirgun bhajans (devotional songs) of the various saint poets.
Committed to the promotion of art, she organizes music festivals at Dewas to bring together major scholars, performers as well as young artists. A performer of uncommon perception, Kalapini is popular amongst the young generations for her lecture demonstrations of Indian classical music. Kalapini lives in Dewas, M.P - central India. She is an active trustee of the Kumar Gandharva Sangeet Academy. She has received an award-scholarship from Department of Culture, Government of India and honoured with the KumarGandharva Award by the prestigious Pujari Pratishthan of Pune. Commercial releases of her studio recordings include "Aarambha" and "Inheritance", released by HMV; and "Dharohar" released by Times Music. " Swar-Manjiri", a live concert recording was released recently by Virgin Records. Kalapini has also recorded for the sound tracks of the film "Paheli" and " Devi Ahilya".
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Padmashri Shubha Mudgal
Born in a musically dedicated family, Shubha Mudgal has been trained by some of the finest musicians and musicologists in India. Trained by Pandit Ram Ashreya Jha in Allahabad, from whom she still receives instruction, Shubha later moved to Delhi where she received the guidance of Pandit Vinaya Chandra Maudgalya and Pandit Vasant Thakar. She went on to learn stylistic techniques from well known maestros Pandit Jitendra Abhisheki and Pandit Kumar Gandharva. She also received training in thumri from Smt. Naina Devi and is thus one of the most versatile and popular performers of the new generation of Hindustani musicians.
Shubha has won recognition as a composer. Her repertoire of medieval mystic and Sufi poetry includes rarely heard texts from the Vaishnava Pushti marg poets, as well as the Nirguna poetry of Kabir, Namdev, Amir Khusrau, Nath panthi poets and other Sufiana poetry. As a result of studying and setting to tune this poetry, she presents concerts on diverse themes ranging from the works of Meerabai, Tulsidas to the medieval texts of Mallik Mohammad Jaysi s Padmavat. Shubha enjoys working with creators in all media. She has thus composed music for dancers, ballets, documentary films, signature tunes for television serials and films. Apart from her work as a performer and composer, Shubha has also been actively engaged in projects that aim at promoting the cause of music. She is on the board of Underscore Records Pvt. Ltd.
She has also worked as a Consultant for many record labels such as Music Today, Magnasound and Virgin Records (India), and in this capacity has been involved in the production of exclusive albums of Indian classical and semi classical music. Greatly concerned with the issues of performers rights and intellectual property rights, Shubha is also constantly engaged in projects that aim at creating awareness of these issues among Indian artists.
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Padmashri Astad Deboo
Astad Deboo has been described as a pioneer of modern dance in India. He has extensive training in the Kathak and the Kathakali styles (the Indian classical dance forms). Astad trained in the Martha Graham dance technique and was an apprentice under Pina Bausch of the Wuppertal Dance Company and Alison Chase of the Pilobolus Dance Company.
Along with these and other experiences with various dance companies in Japan and Indonesia, he has created a dance theatre style of his own. Astad has given command performances for the royal families of Japan and Thailand, performed with Pink Floyd at the Chelsea Town Hall in London, choreographed and performed a site specific work on the Great Wall of China and was commissioned by Pierre Cardin to create a dance for the legendary Maya Plissetskaya prima ballerina of the Bolshoi ballet company.
Astad is a recipient of the Padmashri and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, an honour given by the Govt. of India in recognition for his contribution to contemporary dance. For the last 16 years, Astad has been working with deaf performers in India, USA, Mexico and Hong Kong. He has collaborated with Indian martial arts practitioners, puppeteers, actors and musicians, creating distinct and innovative works across many genres. In 2004, Astad was commissioned by Lingalayam Dance Company to create a dance/drama creation of The Tempest based on the Shakespearian drama.
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Padmashri Prahlad Singh Tipaniyaand his Troupe
Prahlad Singh Tipanya is a rural school teacher from the Malwa region of Madhya Pradesh, who began singing in the late 1970s after being attracted by the sound of the folk tambura. His rare talent, passion, and insight have caused him to be increasingly recognized as a remarkable exponent of Kabir’s music and meanings.
This year he has been awarded the Padmashri. Among many other honors, he received the prestigious Sangeet Natak Akademi award in 2008. Many believe that in the historic struggle in India between secular syncretic traditions and communal forces, it is people like Tipanya who form the most important place. His concerts in rural India are attended by thousands who are drawn to the radical message of Kabir through his rendition of the tradition.
Tipanyiji is not merely a singer but a radical interpreter of Kabir and the Sufi/Bhakto tradition. While his amazing rendition of Kabir bhajans are captivating in themselves, his greater strength is his capacity to bring forth the radical nature of Kabir’s message that has been a part of the Indian tradition for six centuries.
The event
Introduced by
Matchless authority on Kabir
Shri. Purushotam Aggarwalmember, Union Public Service Commission
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People behind
Lehar Lehar Kabir
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Yogi Arwind
A yogi, mystic and visionary spiritual leader, Sanskrit Scholar, Researcher of Ved and Ayurved, Practitioner of Ashtanga Yog(a) and Kundalini Yog(a), Arwindji loves Hindustani Classical Music since childhood. He is gifted with incredible intuitive powers.
He helps seekers build better energy fields within and around. He believes in one’s gradual spiritual evolution through the process of ‘enquiring’ rather than submission to prescribed techniques by masters. Proponent of ‘Maitra Yoga’, Yogi Arwindji believes that - Spiritual journey is all about Maitra; friendship of the seeker with the spiritual master, cosmos and the divine self!
Constantly engaged in exploring the forces of assimilation to make the universe a peaceful place to live by blending Western Scientific Approach withEastern Mysticism, Yogiji helps develop perspectives.
A living barefoot phenomenon constantly connected with supreme energy, Yogi Arwind is a true reflection of cosmic wisdom. Humble, Gentle, Polite and extremely loving Yogi.
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Ayesha Thapar
Ayesha Thapar is the Director of Indian City Properties Ltd. (ICP), a high - end real estate development and property management company with properties in key locations across India. Currently ICP is executing a premium residential building at Carmicheal Road Mumbai, a premium commercial retail building in SP Mookerji in Calcutta, a Villa development in Goa and a Private Gated Community in Delhi. Ayesha, a scion of the noted Thapar family, is actively involved in various aspects of business development and new business ventures for the KCT Thapar Group. Before moving back to India in 2007, Ayesha ran Telecom Voice over IP company Tel3.com in the United States. Under her leadership, the company grew from USD 10million company to USD 30million company in less than 2 years. Ayesha has over ten years of experience in both international and domestic business, in multiple industries that include, internet marketing, real-estate development, telecom, fashion, web design, infrastructure construction and company brand management. She has a flair for art and fashion, and is an avid painter and fashion enthusiast. Ayesha holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics & Mathematics and minor in Studio Art from Wellesley College in Boston. Ayesha has traveled extensively over the world.
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Dibang
Dibang, a senior journalist and debate show host with the news channel Star News, is rated amongst the best Hindi anchors in the industry today. He was the Managing Editor of NDTV India, a 24 hour Hindi news channel. As the Executive Editor, he was the launching face for NDTV India. Before joining NDTV, he worked for Aaj Tak, a 24 hour Hindi news channel. When Aaj Tak became a 24 hour channel, Dibang was the launching face.
He started his career in journalism with the Illustrated Weekly of India. Prior to joining tv news, Dibang was a correspondent with The Sunday Times of India in New Delhi. Dibang has won many awards for his anchoring and documentaries. He also acted in an Italian film directed by Italo Spinelli. He has worked for several foreign television networks like: SBS and ABC of Australia, NHK of Japan and RAI of Italy.
Dibang is a life member of the Editors Guild of India and the Press Club of India. Among his interests are: music, literature and World Cinema.
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Aditya Khanna Aditya Khanna is a serial entrepreneur with several successesin sectors like investment banking, restaurants, KPOs, sports teams & sports merchandising.
Currently Aditya is leading his new group of companies under the ‘Yog’ brand. He is Chairman and CEO of Yog Capital which is focused on proprietary investments. Although Yog Capital is ‘sector agnostic’ in its investment approach it does have a particular interest in India entry and UK centric opportunities given its competitive advantages in these territories.
Other ventures and investments under the ‘Yog’ brand include Yog Sports, the exclusive merchandiser to the Indian Premier League (IPL) for cricket, Kings Punjab IX, one of eight cricket teams in the Indian Premier League and Yog Lotus Capital, a niche India ‘centric’ investment bank. Under the ‘Yog’ umbrella is Indian Cuisine Limited (ICL) that has founded two successful restaurants in London including the revolutionary and Michelin star rated fine dining restaurant ‘Tamarind’ in Mayfair with over 15 years track record in excellence and ‘Imli’ a radical new concept, Indian ‘tapas’ restaurant based in Soho with over five years track record.
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Naghma Sahar
Naghma started her career in the television media as a reporter in 1999. Prior to that she had a brief stint as a print journalist with Asian Age.
Shy by nature, Naghma was into academics and coming face to face with million of viewers was certainly not something she planned for herself. She joined NDTV in 2003 and has since been anchoring primetime news on NDTV India while also reporting on important events.
She hosted a very popular talk show, Salaam Zindagi on NDTV. She is a known face on NDTV. From print journalism to broadcast journalism, she has come a long way.
An anchor of several prime time shows, Naghma has also worked with the United Nations Population Council and the Centre for Social Research (CSR) an NGO which focuses on women issues.
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Shri Purushottam Aggarwal
Shri Purushottam Aggarwal is an esteemed Board member of The Union Public Service Commission and is also a professor in JNU.
He is a matchless authority on Kabir and has done extensive research on the subject. He has also spoken and written numerous books on Kabir.
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Come as a sponsor, remain with us for life!
For the love of kabir!!
For any queries and information, please contact:
Rajeev Shrivastav – 9810110936
Naghma Sahar – 9811997967