A musical fest in Delhi

The ten-day long festival on art and music which concludes tomorrow has met with an overwhelming response in Delhi. Who says Delhi is a cultural wasteland?
The Delhi International Arts Festival which began last week in collaboration with government of Delhi, has become a big hit in the capital. A formal function was organised in the capital where people from all walks of life gathered to listen to the scintillating musical performance of K3, which has been referred to as the enfant terribles of the Austrian Jazz scene. With their fusion of acoustically and electronically generated beats and sounds, the three unconventional artists walk on a tightrope between pop and free jazz.
The style of the group alternates between dub, trance, noise and drum and base and the three musicians boldly defy conventions and create a space for artistic freedom. In doing so, they play Jazz in its original avatar: crossing borders, pushing boundaries and managing to keep itself aloof from clichés. It also refuses to tread the beaten track of academic, inane high-speed jazz. Other important attributes of K3 are improvisation, spontaneity and humour.
It was the perfect setting for a musical performance which saw the likes of Aruna Vasudev, MK Raina, Kamal Sabri, Vinod Dua and Satish Babbar making their presence felt. Guests from the Austrian embassy had also come to enjoy the show.
The main attraction of the evening was eminent Indian Sarode player Ranajit Sengupta making a guest appearance to be a part of the K3 band. He has performed in major music festivals and venues in more than 25 countries. Assisting him on tabla was the young and energetic Samir Nandi. Ranajit expressed his happiness to be a part of the show and said that Delhi has a vibrant cultural life and one has a lot to look forward to in the coming days. Herbert Konighofer (Austria) played the saxes and flute while Klaus Kircher (Austria) played the bass and guitar. Robert Kainar (Austria) played the drums and percussion.
Welcoming the gathering, Prathibha Prahlad, festival director, said that she had suggested this idea of organising such festivals in 2007 to Aruna Vasudev, who was apprehensive about the success of the project. But Prathibha was determined to make a go of it. Finally, the Delhi International Arts Festival had a glorious beginning that very year. It enters its fourth year. “All these years we have managed to reach out to the music and cinema aficionados who have given us positive feedbacks about this festival. We hope in the coming years, we would continue to give a culturally sensitive city like Delhi something to look forward to. And yes, art does sensitise people and make a better human being of us,” said Prathibha. Aruna Vasudev felt happy at the tremendous success of this art festival in the last three years and the enthusiasm and interest it has generated among Delhiites.
Anita Singh, music buff, and the key person behind organising the classical music programme for the Commonwealth Games in Delhi, also praised the role of Prathibha Prahlad in taking things forward since 2007. “Prathibha has really worked hard for the festival,’’ she said.
Imre Lazar, director, Cultural Counsellor of Hungarian Information and Cultural Centre said that the international arts festival is a great concept and is a dream come true for any lover of art and culture.
Lovers of classical music also had the rare opportunity to enjoy the performance of Sitar player Prateek Chaudhary and riveting Kuchipudi by Swapnasundari.
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