SAPNA Chicago organised their flagship Veena Festival last month in Chicago. It was attended by artistes, poets, writers, students, art-lovers and patrons from across the U.S.
The highlight was the two-hour special performance by the Chicago-based veena artiste and cross-cultural ambassador Saraswathi Ranganathan with Chennai’s Damaru Percussion ensemble led by Ragavan Sai and guest artiste Indranil Mallick. The team was accompanied by Krishna Sriram (ghatam), Aditya M.T. Srinivasan (tabla) and Neelakandan Ramachandran (flute).
At the end of the concert, SAPNA honoured Saraswathi Ranganathan with the ‘Sri Kala Purna’ title in recognition of her effort to take veena to a global audience.
This year there were performances by the Rajaveena School of Rajeswari Pariti, Rama Music Academy and Ensemble of Ragas School.
SAPNA Chicago has been contributing to the world of Indian classical arts by creating awareness about them in North America.
The founder-directors Sarada and Sriram Sonty are committed to promote these art forms in the western world.
