Hamsadhwani’s NRI fest gets under way
The Hindu
CHENNAI
Madras High Court judge Anand Venkatesh on Sunday appreciated the role of non-resident Indians in supporting and propagating Carnatic music.
Inaugurating Hamsadhwani’s 27 th NRI festival of dance and music at the Youth Hostel in Indira Nagar, he said NRIs were the ones who were safeguarding Indian culture and classical music.
He said it was sad that a section of people was more interested in the canteen offerings in sabhas than the music that was on offer. He said one need not formally learn music; it was enough to know how to appreciate it and the musicians.
Art patron Revathi Subramanian from San Diego said she was glad that Hamsadhwani had rooted itself in Adyar and was making efforts to spread the classical arts in this part of the city. She recalled that her guru Neyveli Santhanagopalan would emphasise the importance of learning and promoting the arts. “Apart from practicing musicians, we also need people who research, support and propagate music,” she added.
Sabha secretary R. Sundar said Hamsadhwani had encouraged at least 700 NRI artists over the years. This year featured 35 NRI artists from the U.S., Canada, U.K., Norway, New Zealand, Australia and Singapore with 25 programmes on 14 evenings, including Hamsadhwani founder R. Ramachandran’s birthday remembrance on January 1, 2023. The sabha will hold two concerts daily – at 5.15 p.m. and 7 p.m.
The inaugural event was followed by a dance performance by Srekala Bharat and disciples from the Thejas Dance School, titled ‘Veeram Vilaindha Bhoomi’.
“We are judges and therefore, cannot act like Mughals of a bygone era ... the writ courts in the guise of doing justice cannot transcend the barriers of law,” the High Court of Karnataka observed while setting aside an order of a single judge, who in 2016 had extended the lease of a public premises allotted to a physically challenged person to 20 years contrary to 12-year period stipulated in the law.
The High Court of Karnataka on Monday declined to interfere, at present, in the investigation against a Bharatiya Janata Party worker, who is among the accused persons facing charges of circulating obscene clips, related to “morphed” images and videos clips related to Prajwal Revanna, former Hassan MP, in public domain through pen drives and other modes.
The 16th edition of Bhoomi Habba was held on June 8, at the Visthar campus. The festival drew a vibrant crowd who came together to celebrate eco-consciousness through a variety of engaging activities, creative workshops, panel discussions, interactive exhibits and performances, all centered around this year’s theme: “Save Water, Save Lives.”