23 January,2015 07:40 AM IST | | Contributed by: Hemal Ashar, Fiona Fernandez, Maleeva Rebello, Vidya Heble
The city — sliced, diced and served with a dash of sauce
Coming full circle
Music lovers with more salt than pepper in their hair will be thrilled to hear that a much-marked date in their music calendar is making a comeback after two decades and more.
Pandit Birju Maharaj performed at Bombay Music Circle in the â80s
The Bombay Music Circle, that hugely prestigious Indian classical music conference started by the late Hansraj Sharma in the 1970s, is returning. The revival date is January 24, 2015 at the Nehru Centre. There is santoor legend Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma on the santoor. Pandit Bhawani Shankar on the Pakhawaj along with Ramkumar Mishra on the tabla.
Vishal Sharma (son the late Hansraj Sharma) says, "It was my father's dream to take this event forward. We are making a comeback after 32 years. Our last concert happened in 1983." Just for nostalgia's sake, unspooling the past to take you back to the three-day concert in 1983...
At the time it was a regular festival held at Rang Bhavan with top-notch artistes like the late Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, the late Ustad Allah Rakha, Ustad Rais Khan, Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma, Ustad Zakir Hussain, Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia and Pandit Jasraj, to name just a few. We say, more power of all the musical instruments in the world combined, to this resurrection.
Venue: Nehru Centre, Worli, Mumbai
Date: Saturday, January 24, 2015
Time: 7 pm
Tickets: Rs 500, Rs 400, Rs 300 and Rs 200 are available at the venue and at www.bookmyshow.com.
Take A Good Look
We received a mailer that caught our eye, as it were. A promotion for a site called iContribute (www.theconexus.com), it says "Contribute - guess who it starts with". And inside is a little mirror. Yes, we need to be the change we want to see.
Sand between your toes
The dust may have barely settled in the wake of the Mumbai Marathon but if you missed out on the big race, or can't get enough, head to the beach. It's the 3rd Running and Living Alibag XC Half Marathon, at Kihim beach, on February 15.
January 26 is the last date for registration (go to runningandliving.com/our-runs/alibag-half-marathon). The run starts at 6am, so you may want to get there the night before - that takes care of your Valentine's Day plans, too.
Songs from the soul
At Ravindra Natyamandir today at 8.30 pm, Krishna Sur Sangam (KSS), a non-government organization (NGO) is hosting Suneri Yaadein - A musical journey.
Not just any concert, the show will feature vocal recitals by four visually challenged students from Kamala Mehta School for the Blind, Dadar, who are trained by Krishna Das, a trained classical singer who has studied at Gandharv Mahavidyalaya, Mumbai.
The concert tickets are available for Rs 200 at the venue. Das says that she was inspired to teach blind children to sing by her guru, renowned visually challenged music director Ravindra Jain.
Get a good grasp on education
For a generation absorbed in its mobile phones, perhaps it was inevitable that even education should reach the handheld medium. Echoing the quip "There's an app for that", a company has come up with an application for Android-based phones, called iProf.
The app promises to put students in touch with well-known teachers, unlimited practice tests, a library of videos and notes, a discussion board and even a "raise a doubt" feature wherein students' queries can be individually answered.
The tests are instantly scored, and students can compare their results with those of others. The major common entrance tests are included in the content, and more courses and exams are to be added. It all sounds good. Now we just hope students don't decide to revise for their next test while crossing the road!
