Art of Living's historic classical music symphony in Pune
2600 + Hindustani Classical vocalists to perform together
Bangalore, January 9, 2010: The Art of Living will put together a historic Hindustani classical music symphony in Pune on Jan 12, 2010. The event titled Antarnaad, will feature over 2600+ Hindustani Classical vocalists, on one platform, in a first-of-its-kind symphony, being held during the golden jubilee year of the state of Maharashtra.
Conceived by His Holiness Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, spiritual and humanitarian leader and founder, Art of Living, Antarnaad aims to showcase the vast, masterful repertoire of Hindustani classical music and provide a platform to bring to the fore the talent of the exponents of this ancient Indian art.
“Among the many unique offerings that India can make to the world, spirituality and music are certainly definitive,” said His Holiness Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, in the context of the up-coming symphony.
The grand symphony will also see the participation of renowned names from the music fraternity including Pt. Rajan & Sajan Misra, Shankar Mahadevan and Chitra Roy. Bharat Ratna, Pt. Bhimsen Joshi will be felicitated at the event by His Holiness. In addition, Dy CM of Maharashtra Sh. Chaggan Bhujbal, Home Minister of Maharashtra Sh. R R Patil, Women & Child Welfare and Parliamentary affairs Sh. Harshvardhan Patil, Revenue Minister Maharashtra Sh. Narayan Rane, Minister for state for Home Sh Ramesh Bagwe, Forest Minister Maharashtra Shri Patangrao Kadam, Dy leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Gopinath Munde, apart of leaders from the corporate world are expected to be participate.
Responding to the call of Antarnaad, Hindustani classical singers from almost all states across India, will be part of this vocal ensemble. Internationals too from countries as far as USA, Russia, UK are expected present in an audience of over 100,000.
The platform being created for this event is a mammoth 27,000sq ft stage with a 20ft high backdrop. This will be a mobile wooden stage which is being built without any digging in the ground, so that there is no damage to the earth. Sound & light will be handled by Roger Drego’s Electrocraft. The stage design is handled by Vivek Khataokar, famous in Maharashtra for his Ganesh pandals. The music for this concert is based on evening melodies from ancient ragas in the Gandharva Veda namely, Shree, Purya Dhanashree, Des, Basant Bahar, Chandrakaus, Shankara, Kalavati, Janasammohini and Bhoop.
Antarnaad will be the grandest in the Art of Living tradition of showcasing ancient Indian arts on one platform. The Art of Living had earlier entered the Guinness Book of World Records with 1,200 Mohiniyattam dancers performing together on one stage for its Silver Jubilee celebrations in 2006 and for its historic sitar concert titled Brahmnaad in New Delhi in November 2008, which brought together over 1,000 sitarists, in aid of Bihar relief and rehabilitation. Among its multifarious activities, Art of Living works towards reviving the culture & arts of ancient India.