On the evening of Friday October 9, nearly one hundred connoisseurs of Indian classical music gathered together in the lovely confines of Roy Barnett Hall at UBC, to be treated to a truly beautiful performance of classical sarod by Pandit Rajeev Taranath, eminent disciple of the great master, the late Ali Akbar Khan. Pt. Taranath was accompanied by the accomplished tabla artist Abhiman Kaushal, and the setting, Roy Barnett Hall, overflowed with transcendent ragas and rhythms as they demonstrated their virtuosic mastery over their instruments, coupled with remarkable emotive grace.
Abhiman Kaushal (Tabla) and Rajeev Taranath (Sarod)
Opening the evening was the local sensation and first-year undergraduate student, Akhil Jobanputra, a disciple of the noted vocalists Pandit Jasraj and Asha Lohia, who was accompanied on the harmonium by Mohan Bhide and on tabla by Sunny Matharu. Even as he wowed us with his prodigious skills, Jobanputra led us through the intricate world of khayal singing with a sensitivity towards story and meaning that demonstrates a maturity well beyond his years.
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Sunny Matharu (Tabla) and Akhil Jobanputra (Vocals)
Beyond simply enjoying good music, the concert was organized as an effort to provide material aid to families and individuals in rural Nepal who have been affected by the devastating earthquakes of April and May 2015. From ticket sales and individual donations, we have been able to raise over $2200 that will be donated to two organizations, CORE International (www.core-international.org) and the Nepal Heritage Charity Foundation of BC (http://www.nhcfbc.org/), who are working with community-based organizations in Nepal to fund post-earthquake reconstruction efforts.
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The event was MC’d by Tom Hunter, Lecturer in Sanskrit in Asian Studies
Fully 100% of the proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to these charities, thanks to the financial generosity of the South Asia Endowment in the Department of Asian Studies, the Centre for India and South Asia Research, and the UBC School of Music (who very generously provided us the lovely concert hall free of charge). To them we owe much gratitude for helping to make this evening a success!
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