Brief Description of the Activity:
This music workshop – designed as a stimulating and interactive session – will show participants how to appreciate Indian music, through understanding its melodic structure and through actual compositions.
Workshop Sequence
- Introduction to the scale of 7 notes, similar to the pure notes in the Western scale.
- Demonstration of how these notes are combined to produce ragas or musical modes.
- Demonstration of a few compositions in different forms: khayal, thumri, tappa and tarana.
- Discussion of a short composition in the Hindi language, with written and oral translation and interpretation.
- Participants will learn to sing this composition together.
Objective(s) and Expected Learning Outcome(s) of the Proposed Activity:
Objectives:
• To teach students the main features of Indian classical music
• To demonstrate the different genres of classical Indian music
• To teach students how to sing Indian classic music as a group
Expected Learning Outcomes:
By joining this session, students will be able to:
• Understand the melodic structure and compositions of Indian music
• Appreciate Indian music both in musical and cultural context
• Acquire the ability to sing a simple Indian song
Background of workshop leaders, who are all part of the Saath-Saath Project, curated by Tejaswini Niranjana:
Omkar Havaldar
Omkarnath Havaldar is recipient of Kishora Pratibha Puraskar instituted by the Kannada & Culture department, Government of Karnataka (2000) & National Award winner for Hindustani Classical Khayal Singing conducted by All India Radio (2003). Omkarnath Havaldar has performed on many prestigious platforms in India and internationally, including Yale University, the University of Wisconsin at Madison, the Shanghai Conservatory of Music and the Power Station of Art, Shanghai. He was one among the three musicians selected from all over the world to propagate peace and communal harmony in Afghanistan through music. QPTV New York has recorded Omkarnath and his music regularly telecast in the US.
Bindhumalini Narayanaswamy
Bindhu Malini Narayanaswamy is a singer trained in both Carnatic (South Indian) and Hindustani (North Indian) music. She hails from a family of musicians, and has composed and sung for jingles and films in Hindi, Kannada, and Tamil. Suno Bhai, a collection of Kabir Poems released in 2012, was her debut album, created in collaboration with singer and guitarist Vedanth Bharadwaj. Over the years, Vedanth and Bindhu have travelled all over India and overseas, performing songs of Kabir and other mystic saints of India. Since 2014, Bindhu has also been part of a musical narrative on Hazrat Amir Khusrau, a collaborative project with dastango Ankit Chadha, Vedanth Bharadwaj, and Ajay Tipaniya. Bindhu and her sisters Jaya and Archana perform 'Akatha Kahani' a creative work that integrates song, dance, and storytelling to share their journeys in discovering Kabir.
Rutuja Lad
She was initiated into music from the age of 5 years by her parents, and has won prizes in several prestigious music competitions in India. She also participated in the singing reality show Zee Marathi Idea SaReGaMaPa and was one of the Top 6 Finalists. She secured 2nd Prize in AIR Music Competition 2017 in the Category of Semi Classical Music. She has performed in various prestigious music organizations like Dadar Matunga Cultural Centre, Hridayesh GaanPrabha Youth Festivals, INT Aditya Birla Centre for Performing Arts and Suburban Music Circle. She was also a part of the International Music Exchange during the Shanghai Biennale 2017 in China, and performed at a number of venues including the Shanghai Conservatory of Music and the Power Station of Art, Shanghai.
