New Delhi, Jan 15 (PTI) Veteran musicians L Subramaniam and Kavita Krishnamurthy are all set to perform in the capital on Friday as part of their ‘Lakshmi Narayana Global Music Festival’, which they say is a celebration of Indian culture and its musical traditions.
The festival, in its 35th year, is a tribute to musician Lakshmi Narayana, L Subramaniam’s father, who is credited with taking the Indian violin internationally.
“For me, it is a celebration of India and things which are turning positively… When we travelled abroad in the 1970s and 1980s, they thought you were from a poor, third-world country. Snakes and lions are running on the road… But now we know, even with the Indian passports, people look up to us,” he told PTI.
“Collectively as a three-generation family, we are celebrating India and celebrating Bharat and looking forward to India going higher and things like that.” Krishnamurthy said while she has also worked in Bollywood, her husband has kept his classical music roots as strong as possible.
“But both of us are essentially very, very Indian at heart. And though he has collaborated with artists all over the world, it has always been his compositions “We feel proud about being born in Indian traditions and being born in Indian musical traditions. For us, that’s one of the richest legacies in the whole world. So whatever we do, that’s there in the back of our minds always,” she added.
L Subramaniam said their new tour is special as they are premiering a new composition called Navagraha Symphony.
“We believe there are nine planets, and depending on their positions, astrologers predict one’s life and destiny. This symphony is inspired by that concept. The Navagraha Symphony is composed in Sanskrit and will be performed by Kavita, my daughter Bindu, my granddaughter Mahati, and my son Ambi, who will also be performing a violin solo.” Krishnamurthy said the tour, slated to take place in five cities, including Chandigarh, Kolkata, Chennai and Bengaluru, will feature a special tribute to “Vande Mataram” in its 150th year.
“Since it’s the 150th year of Vande Mataram, we are also doing that. We will be singing it with the symphony orchestras backing me up, and also the dancers — the Garku dancers who are coming from Kazakhstan, they will be dancing on Vande Mataram. So it becomes really like an international collaboration, a global tribute to Vande Mataram,” she said.
The musician couple recently travelled to Kazakhstan to practice with the Symphony Orchestra there. In Delhi and Chandigarh, the ICCR has collaborated closely with the musicians as the performance is part of the ICCR International Music and Dance Festival.
Asked about the growing popularity of the live music scene in India, Subramaniam said foreign artists coming and performing in India shows the country’s financial might.
“Because those foreign artists, when they come, they come with huge requirements. I’m talking about big rock and pop artists—the orchestra, the equipment, everything. The Indian audience can support, and sponsors can support it. It shows things are changing. There is extra cash to spend on culture,” he said. PTI NM BK NM BK BK
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