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I had a beautiful evening at the U. Srinivas and Pt Shivkumar Sharma concert. It was food for the soul 🙂

The Times Group has organized the Bandra Festival. This festival covers a lot of cultural activities and these are held around this suburb. I attended a classical music recitcal by U. Srinivas (he plays the mandolin in carnatic style) and by Pt. Shivkumar Sharma (his name is synonymous to the Santoor) at the Bandra Fort on the special occasion of Dhanteras. I dragged 2 loyal friends along and I am sure that they are still cursing me for doing that…hehe! We had no passes but we took a chance and actually found ourselves seated ‘comfortably numb’ in the second row of the amphitheatre. The winding path to the amphitheatre was lit with colorful lanterns and diyas adding to the festive spirit. The pookalam, the backdrop and the lighting were apt for the evening and the special day.

The concert was attended by people of all age groups, from every community and from all walks of life with a common interest – music. Music truly brings us all together.

I had never attended an Indian classical music concert before and I found it to be a soul enriching experience. Seeing the maestros perform and their jugalbandi with their respective groupmates was such an amazing experience. I can only imagine the kind of dedication these Padmashree award winners have towards their music. One feels proud of this nation for producing such gems!

But the evening also showed me another side of a musician..that of a novice and a struggler who is at the mercy of labels and sponsors to get there for his 5 seconds of fame. I hope every true and sincere person finds his spot under the sky.

My friends had some other commitments and had to leave mid-way. After the concert, I met Tarun and his friends – Bharath, Sumit and Anu there and we went for some nice Lebanese food 🙂 Sweet people, they all are!

Happy Dhanteras!