Newsletter December 2010

1. Christmas Gift Ideas
- Special Offers -

Christmas is approaching quickly - and with it once again a nagging question: What could be a nice gift for again the question of what one might pay for the dear friends of Indian sounds? Here are some ideas and recommendations from India Instruments - are all currently in stock and available for quick shipping! Please click the respective link to get detailed information on each item. All prices plus shipping costs. Please place your orders for timely delivery before Christmas as soon as possible!

Indian music CDs in all its facets from the label Navras - single CD 11.90 (rather than the usual 15. -) / double CD 19.90 (rather than the usual 26.50) Euros.
Classical, Folk, Fusion, Devotional, mantra - the full range of Indian sounds at reduced prices up to 24.12. All Navras-CDs" have an order numbers beginning with NRCD.

"Raga Unveiled""Yoga Unveiled" - 32.90 Euros each.
Excellent documentary film DVDs with a wide range of unique sources - more info

Indigo Masala "Big Gods & Little Animals" & Ranajit Sengupta / Miguel Guldimann "Anuraag" - 15. - Euros each.
World music CDs with beautiful combinations of Indian and Western instruments - more info

Manjira / Kartal & DVD Devotional Music Lessons - 8.- to 16. - / 26.90 Euros.
Versatile, beautiful sounding pairs of cymbals in various sizes + teaching materials.
More info on Manjira and teaching DVD

South Indian kanjira & DVD rhythm language on Kanjira - 39.- / 35.50 Euros.
Small, handy and versatile frame drum with impressive sound capabilities + teaching materials.
More infos on Kanjira and teachings DVD

Shrutibox Monoj Kumar Sardar, small or large - 190.- or 230.- Euros.
Easy-to-play drone instrument with rich and warm sound for singing, chanting and meditation.
See for more info on Monoj Kumar Sardar Shrutibox small and Monoj Kumar Sardar Shrutibox large

"Music in North India - Experiencing Music, Expressing Culture" - 19,90 Euros.
Wonderfully accessible introductory book to classical North Indian raga music with audio CD - more info

2. New Showroom in Berlin
- Company Info -

Our small world of Indian music in Berlin-Zehlendorf has grown a little again. Since mid-October we have a new additional showroom for visiting customers right next to our main exhibition space. The formerly privately used room is equipped with warm wall colors, carpeting and a comfortable sofa, inviting a relaxed stay. Brought along friends or relatives can make themselves comfortable for a longer visit on the sofa, while you can thoroughly tried out different instruments in peace. Thanks to the advanced facilities, we can now have two customers visiting the store at the same time, if necessary. That way we getmore flexible and can better meet your individual needs. Make an appointment simply by calling +49-30-6211724 or by sending an email to music@india-instruments.de - we look forward to your visit!

3. 25th Anniversary of the Ali Akbar College of Music Basel
- Notes by Ken Zuckerman -

From November 21st - 28th, the 25th Annual Seminar of the Ali Akbar College of Music (AACM) has taken place in Basel. Its founder and director Ken Zuckerman has sent us a few notes on that occasion.

As maestro Khan told us, 25 years is a long time, but it's also just the beginning. And after having completed the 25th year of the Ali Akbar College of Music in Basel, I feel much the same way. Both students and teachers enjoyed a very intense week of work together, immersed in the vast repertoire of the ragas and rhythms of Indian classical music. My teaching colleagues, including maestro Swapan Chaudhuri, his assistant Henry Nagelberg and sitar teacher Daniel Bradley, formed an excellent team and gave the students much knowledge and inspiration throughout the seminar. As the week progressed, the students were filled up with material that they will be able to work on and refine during the year to come.

For me, one of the highlights of the seminar was the student recital. Several sitar, sarod and tabla players, of different ages and years of experience, all performed wonderfully and showed how they have been progressing, both technically and musically. Also, we enjoyed the presence of a growing number of younger students, some even 7 and 8 years old, who show much promise. Swapan Chaudhuri remarked about an 8 year old in his class, "he is very bright and has an incredible concentration. He will definitely become a fine musician if he keeps it up." This is of course, also a big inspiration for us all to keep this unique institution alive and thriving. This is precisely what Khansahaib requested me to do, and the memory of all his years of patient dedication, gives me the inspiration and will to keep the College going for many more years in the future.

More info on the AACM Basel: www.aliakbarcollege.org

4. Tragic Death of Indrayudh Bose
- Obituary by Arup Sengupta -

The world of Indian music has lost one of the most talented North Indian violinists. On November 13th, Indrayudh Bose drowned in the dangerous currents of the Bay of Bengal, at the beach resort of Digha, in a tragical accident.

Indrayudh Bose was born in 1976. His first teacher, until her untimely death, was his mother Milly Bose, a student of renowned violinist Sisirkana Dhar Chaudhury. He then continued his studies with the great sitar player Kushal Das. Since 2002 Indrayudh visited Europe regularly and gave many concerts in Germany, Belgium, Switzerland and the Netherlands.

I was allowed to accompany him on the tabla in a variety of concerts, and I found that his playing was characterized by both meditative depth and technical virtuosity. Shortly before his death, we talked to each other on the phone and made plans for future joint projects. The people around him appreciated his happy nature and his selflessness.

Left behind by Indrayudh are his father, his wife Mohua, whom he had married in the spring of 2009, and his 3-months-old daughter Paromeshwari. If you knew Indrayudh and would like to give support to his bereaved family, feel free to contact me at e-mail arup@arupsengupta.com

May his soul rest in peace!

Videos of Indrayudh Bose: www.youtube.com Indrayudh's homepage: www.freewebs.com/indrayudh

5. Total Immersion - Indiasphere Festival in Graz
- Review by Yogendra -

Indiasphere Festival 2010 in Graz, Austria, offered a total experience of India on November 6th.On occasion of the Diwali festival over 300 spectators visited the Volkshaus and witnessed a high-class, ambitious, exciting, thrilling six-hour stage show, which was absolutely unique in its unconventional composition.

The evening opened with a classical North Indian raga concert of sarod player Partho Sarothy www.parthosarodi.in, assisted by his student Alokesh Chandra www.alankara.com on sitar and accompanied on tabla by Ashis Paul www.ashispaul.com. Connoisseurs of the raga tradition may have been disappointed by the extremely compressed interpretation of Simendra-Madhyam. It strung together alap, jor, jhala, slow and fast gat, sawal-jawab and final jhala within just 20 minutes and with hardly any depth. It was followed by an even shorter raga-mala in Pilu. But the audience, extremely enthusiasticfrom the very beginning, was obviously pleased with the technical virtuosity and feverish excitement of the performance and responded with thunderous applause.

After a short dance performance by local hero Smirti Mudra Kohli and her group, Indigo Masala Masala www.indigo-masala.de presented their own acoustic Asian world fusion. The refined compositions of the trio with sitar, tabla, Russian buttoned accordion, vocals and percussion provided a new atmospheric climax with catchy grooves, varied arrangements and impressive solos (especially by youngster Arun Leander) and met the nerve of the motley crowd. Final highlight before the break was the classical Indian Kathak dance performance by Ioanna Srinivasan www.kathakdance.de, accompanied by the musicians of Indigo Masala. She thrilled with a dense presentation, brilliant technique, expression and temperament.

After the intermission, the hall was filled with eager tension for the premiere of a project called Grand Vizier's Chest www.grandvizierschest.at, composed by Denovaire and Stefan Fink. They presented a kind of suite of oriental jazz, film score and adventure music with 14-piece orchestra. With string quartet, flute, clarinet, trumpet, three percussionists, guitar, bass, esraj, vocals and harmonium, conducted by Wolfgang Hattinger, Grand Vizier's Chest created a fantastic trip to an exotic Oriental dreamland - sophisticated, big, magical cinema for the ears. The premiere in Graz was the first step towards a full-length programme of music, dance and video projection - Grand Vizier's Chest is a work in progress.

After all these exquisite artistic delights, the evening culminated into a big enthusiastic party. Smriti Kohli, Mahesh Manda, Nitin Shrivastava, Five Continents and Djai BhanGraz heated up the crowd with powerful Bollydance, Bhangra, Indo-Pop and Bollybeats and inivited everybody to dance and sing along. A colorful people from all over the world celebrated Diwali harmoniously and full of joy. Indiasphere 2010 officially ended at midnight and the visitors disbanded in the foyer with glowing faces and lots of warm hugs.

The big Diwali festival was held for the third time in this form, and the organiser, the Indo-Austrian Society for Culture and Arts, Graz, e.V. www.indiacentergraz.at with its chairman Pawan Kohli, deserves great praise for its innovative work. In other places there is usually little contact between Indian high culture and Bollywood shows, between migrant groups and long-established residents, but Graz has succeeded in bringing people together under one roof, creating mutual stimulation and a broad public resonance. The integration of political personalities has been exemplary, too - it included the Indian Ambassador and Austrian politicians from state parliament and the city council of Graz as honorary guests. But the visionary mission of the Indo-Austrian Society for Culture and Arts reaches beyond Diwali parties and the city limits of Graz: Indiasphere 2010 included introductory workshops for pupils and for students of musicology as well as a cooperation concert in Austrian capital Vienna. This creates synergies and broad effects, which should bear fruit in the long run. Let's hope that the Indo-Austrian Society for Culture and Arts will get still wider support for its great voluntary work in the future.

6. Documentary on Nada Yoga
- Media Tip of Yogendra -

Nada Yoga, working with sound, is still one of the lesser known paths to the self in Yoga. Dutch television showed a half-hour documentary on the subject in November, titled "Nada Yoga - het geluid van het secret" (Nada Yoga - The secret of sound). It is freely available on the web and focuses on the testimonies of two contrasting protagonists.

The sitarist Acharya Jaimini Trigunateet embodies the Indian tradition. He comes from a family in which knowledge on Nada Yoga was passed on for generations and emphasizes the mythological and mystical aspects deeply rooted in Hindusm.

The German musician and sound therapist Thomas Meisenheimer on the other hand stands for a Western approach. He tries to resolve the healing power of sound from their embedding in traditional belief systems and thereby make it accessible to everyone. Thomas Meisenheimer trained with Indian musicians and works with yoga masters. In addition to Indian elements (like sung ragas, Tanpura, Rudra-vina or sitar) he uses other means and sources as well, e.g. Western sound massage tables. Meisenheimer's approach is based on experience, intuition and a spiritual perspective of man. Ttherapeutic sessions in a school for disabled children and in his own private practice are presented as examples of his work.

"Nada Yoga - het geluid van het secret" leaves the spoken-words in their original of English and Hindi languages and provides them with Dutch subtitles. The film is available at www.nederland2.nl - the Silverlight player is required for watching, which can be downloaded free of charge on the site. More detailed info in German about Thomas Meisenheimer's sound temple at www.klang-tempel.de

7. Funny Indian Music
- Media Tip of Yogendra -

Indian music, especially in its classical forms, is often perceived as a very serious matter. The following clip shows quite a different perspective. Popular Indian television entertainer Revathy Sankaran presents the English nursery rhyme "Twinkle twinkle little star" in the Carnatic style, in Malayalam, Telugu and Punjabi - and the whole family have their fun ... See the clip on youtube.