Life
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Thiruvananthapuram
A celebration with a difference
Subha Mudgal addressing a press conference at SAHMAT office in New Delhi on Tuesday.
THEIRS IS not the way of the "right'. Making a musical statement, they are singing in one voice hoping that through their music this year, the "right'' will be proved wrong.
A celebration with a difference -- from contemporary to classical -- musicians across the country come together on Wednesday to preserve "their'' space. Organised by the Safdar Hashmi Memorial Trust (SAHMAT), the first day of every year is a tribute to India's multicultural and pluralist legacy.
``For several years artists have been meeting on January 1 every year to protect a cultural space. This year the reason is special, there have been repeated assaults on this space. The tomb of Wali Gujarati was demolished earlier this year and we heard that the tomb of Aftabe Mausiki Ustad Fayaz Ahmad Khan was desecrated in Baroda. Tomorrow is part of a month-long programme of resistance,'' said celebrated singer Shubha Mudgal at a press conference here today.
While the old-timers are still enthusiastically fighting for the cause, the movement has grown with newer recruits joining forces with them. "Besides the traditional singers, we have included other genres too. The classical traditional already has a rich and beautiful example of our composite culture. Usha Uthup is a popular singer who believes in our cause and will be joining us. We also have young upcoming singers such as Vidya Shah. We will be drawing on several sources to register our musical protest,'' claimed the singer.
A decade after the "black'' day for secular India, this year SAHMAT has not relied on the power of music alone. Trying to reach out to the youth of the country, it has organised many lectures by social scientists and historians to point out to the youth that the saffron way is the wrong way to go.
``Fundamentalism can only produce one-liners and hatred. We will fight to the end to protect our multicultural, plural space. I think political parties can be left to fight out the right winged agenda of other parties. But it is important that we as artists should protect our space and articulate from it in vibrant ways,'' said noted artist Vivan Sundaram.
And playing their sitar and singing in unison at the Shri Ram Centre at 2 p.m., artists will do their bit in the fight to keep the fabric of India intact, in the only way they know -- through music.
By Mandira Nayar
Photo: S. Arneja
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Life
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Thiruvananthapuram
|
