Konnichiwa Pune back with a slice of Japan

Pune: Music producer, composer and tabla player Noriko Shakti was taken by surprise when several people complimented her on her performance in fluent Japanese after she played her DJ sets at Konnichiwa Pune, the Indo-Japanese festival, last year.“I was surprised to see the interest in Japanese culture and language in the city. Youngsters in Pune are open to all music genres and are very energetic,” she said. Noriko, who has a doctorate in music from Rabindra Bharati University in Kolkata, will play the tabla and DJ sets, with a fusion of Indian and Japanese music, at the event’s fifth edition on Saturday and Sunday.“I have been in India since 2016 but did not know there was such a festival until I performed last year,” Fumie Negishi, a disciple of Hindustani classical vocalist Prabha Atre, said.She will perform raga Kirwani based on a composition by Atre in the festival. “I will also present some Japanese songs on the second day. I will also walk in a kimono and participate in bon odori (a Japanese dance form to welcome the dead). We believe in Japan that during summer, especially in August, the spirits of our ancestors come home, so we welcome them through song and dance,” she said.For santoor player Takahiro Arai, it will be the second time at the festival. “But I have played earlier in Pune at Sawai Gandharva Bhimsen Mahotsav with my guruji Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma,” he said. Takahiro, who played the drums in Japan, said his quest for melody brought him to India and to Pandit Sharma. “There is only rhythm in drums, but no melody. So, I started looking for a strike instrument that can also produce melody. I was in search of a musical instrument when my friend gave me a CD of guruji. I thought I should come to India and learn Indian music. So, I came here in 2006 and started taking lessons from Pandit Sharma.”Apart from music and dance, the festival will also showcase Japanese tea ceremony (sado), calligraphy (shodo), art of paper folding (origami), traditional fabric wrap (furoshiki), art of flower arrangement (ikebana), anime cosplay and dance styles, among others.“This year, we are organising a kimono fashion show. They have been designed by Indian artisans using Indian textile. These are not 100% kimonos, but can be described as inspirations. However, Japanese models will wear authentic kimonos. Artists from India and Japan will also perform the Japanese harvest dance,” Siddharth Deshmukh, co-founder and president of Indo-Japan Business Council, said. There will also be a variety of Japanese cuisines and delicacies at the festival hosted by the council and the Consulate General of Japan in Mumbai at Phoenix Marketcity in Vimannagar.
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