Indian classical music Archives - Lokmarg

Indian singer Shankar Mahadevan received an honorary doctorate from Birmingham City University (BCU) for his outstanding contribution to music and the arts on June 23 in a ceremony held at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire.

Talking exclusively to ANI, Mahadevan shared his experience and said, “This is truly special, I feel privileged, I feel honoured and this is just the result of body of work that I have done. I would like to thank Birmingham City University and all the people who decided to confer this legendary, honourable doctorate on me. All I can say is that this is an occasion which tells that I need to work even harder, come up with even more beautiful songs and spread the joy of music which is Indian classical music all around the world.”
Andy Street, the mayor of West Midlands County in the UK, made the announcement during a trade mission event in Mumbai in November last year.

The occasion was also attended by the Table Maestro Ustad Zakir Hussain and the legendary guitarist, John McLaughlin.

He added, “When an honorary doctorate like this is conferred upon an artist that you look up to then you’ve a goal to achieve. The youngster feel that their dreams are coming true in front of their eyes. They also start working hard and they would also like to achieve and would like to reach possibly where I reached today. I used to look up at maestros like John McLaughlin and Ustaad Zakir Hussain like they have come to confer this upon me. So it’s nice to set a kind example for the next generation.”

After a formal ceremony the students of Birmingham City University performed the songs composed by the singer like ‘Mitwa’ from ‘Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna’.

Later the choir was joined by the legendary Shakti trio- Ustad Zakir Hussain, Shanar Mahadevan, and John McLaughlin on stage who performed Bollywood numbers and Mahadevan also enchanted the audience with his timeless claasic ‘Breathless’.

Mahadevan is known for his hit tracks like ‘Maa Tujhe Salaam’, ‘Aaj Kal Zindagi’, ‘Uff Teri Ada’, ‘Tere Naina’, ‘Kay Sera Sera’, and ‘Koi Kahe Kehta Rahe’ among others. (ANI)

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday, while lauding Indian classical music and its craze outside the country, said that the exports of Indian classical musical instruments have increased and their biggest buyers include developed countries such as USA and UK.

The Prime Minister was addressing the 95th edition of the ‘Mann Ki Baat’ programme.
“The export of musical instruments from India has increased by 3.5 times since last year. It shows the interest of the world in Indian classical music. In the last eight years, musical instrument exports have increased by 3.5 times; electrical musical instrument exports have also increased by 60 times. This indicates that the craze for Indian culture and music is increasing across the world,” PM Modi said.

“The biggest buyers of Indian musical instruments are developed countries like USA, Germany, France, Japan and UK,” he added.

The Prime Minister mentioned a Greece artist Konstantinos Kalaitzis who did a rendition of Vaishav Janato, a song said to be Mahatma Gandhi’s favourite, and said that the artist weaved all his India-related experiences in a book.

“Konstantinos Kalaitzis, an artist from Greece has done a beautiful rendition of Vaishav Janato – Bapu’s favourite song. Not only this, Konstantinos has visited India regularly in the last 42 years to study India’s classical music and dance traditions. He has studied the contribution of many great personalities of Indian music,” he said.

“He has beautifully weaved all his India-related experiences in a book titled ‘Indian Music’ having nearly 760 pictures. Most of these pictures have been clicked by him. Such enthusiasm and fascination about Indian culture in other countries are really heartening,” PM Modi added.

Highlighting the richness of the Indian culture, the Prime Minister said that the genres of Indian music have left an “indelible mark on the world”.

“In our culture, classical music is considered divine. All our Gods and Goddesses are shown playing many musical instruments. From flowing rivers to the chirping of birds we can find music everywhere. Our genres of music have not only enriched our culture but have also left an indelible mark on the world,” he said. (ANI)

Tag: Indian classical music

Shankar Felicitated With Honorary Doctorate By Top UK Univ

Export Of Indian Musical Instruments Increased, USA, UK Biggest Buyers: Modi