Monthly Archives: April 2019
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Vive la France and the music of the Bangalore Men
A home-grown all male choir is set to perform choral music that has rarely been played in the city.
When the music is written by French composers, sung by an Indian choir group which is led by a Swedish baritone and conductor – it’s a complete package. Especially when Jonas Olsson, founder of the said choir, Bangalore Men, says none of them speak French. Yes, the verses are in French and this unique celebration of French choral music titled Vive la France’, is a testimony of what passion for music can lead to; as well as Google translator.
Olsson is a Bengaluru-based Western classical trained singer who has been juggling his day time job at Volvo with teaching music at the Bangalore School of Music. He started the all-male voices ensemble to focus on Western classical music across a time period ranging from medieval to contemporary times. Olsson first performed French choral music about 25 years back at the Gothenburg Cathedral in Sweden. “French choral music is not so well-known in the choir music scene,” he explains. “It is a bit melancholy and the pieces that I have selected are fairly modern, dating back to the late 1800s and the mid 1900s.”
The fact that the audience in the city are more aware of composers like Mozart and Beethoven prompted Olsson to showcase the music composed by Gabriel Faure, Maurice Durufle and Francis Poulenc, a selection which will set the music from late 1800s to 1949. “Their music is too beautiful to be left alone,” he notes. The pieces will range from quietly meditative to joyous and triumphant, as the note accompanying the invitation promises.
The 18-member choir took about a couple of months to practise the pieces but that’s only because, Olsson stresses, they have been consistently practising singing every week for the past three years. “That makes it easier to pick up new pieces.” The Bangalore Men has previously performed Mozart’s Requiem, Beethoven’s 9th symphony, Simply Schubert on Franz Schubert as well as A Cappela Through the Ages focussing on renaissance and early Baroque music.
Their choir singers are from diverse fields; doctors, engineers, architects and IT professionals hailing from across the country and religions. “Music is unifying,” Olsson truly believes in this as he has, over the years, introduced the city audiences to unique repertoires including British composer Gustav Holst’s Choral Hymns from the Rig Veda. “Music lovers from all over the world are on the same page. They feel the rhythm and pulse of good music.” But they have the responsibility to educate themselves in all styles of music as well as take their heritage forward. Olsson talks of his exposure to Carnatic music through two of his students and hopes to have some sort of collaboration with them. “It will show that as far as our music goes, we are not that far away from each other.”
As far as Olsson’s personal taste goes or his go-to music, he sees himself relaxing with classical music. “But I enjoy all music,” he says. His passion for music was instilled young, growing up in Sweden which, according to him, has a diverse musical scene with easy access to music conservatories. He talks of an astonishing number of people taking to choral music in Sweden. About 1 million people go for choral music rehearsals every week. “It is that popular,” he laughs. Elsewhere, it is the enduring quality and richness of classical music that has kept the genre alive. “The pieces we will be performing are about a few centuries old,” he says. “They have survived so far and will continue to do so.” It is his aim to bring music that’s from the classical genre yet outliers so that the audiences are challenged as well. If even one person from the audience goes back and looks up choir music, it will gladden him. “Experience of the moment is one thing,” Olsson says, “but sparking their curiosity about the music played is a huge accomplishment.”
Since Vive la France will be performed in a church, Olsson believes that the enjoyment will be two-fold. One doesn’t need to know French to enjoy the music and nor does one have to be of any particular religion to enjoy the beauty of the church. “The French choral music will make an everlasting impression as it did on me when I first performed it.”
What: Vive la France
When: Apr 7th, 6 pm
Where: Saint Andrew’s Church, Cubbon Road
source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> Entertainment> Music / by Jayanthi Madhukar, Deccan Chronicle / April 05th, 2019
Why this Bengaluru teenager looks at the glass half full
A few years ago Gulhati suddenly started noticing news articles on droughts and water-related issues across the country.
Bengaluru :
Garvita Gulhati isn’t a typical college-going student. For one, she doesn’t have social media accounts, and second, she doesn’t binge watch TV shows. Instead, the 19-year-old student from PES University is on a mission to conserve water, for which she has been going from restaurant to restaurant requesting managers to fill only half a glass of water unless otherwise requested for by the customer. Her initiative #GlassHalfFull, which she started at the age of 15, has borne fruit with 200 restaurants adopting the campaign and now, the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI), which represents over 1,00,000 restaurants, has extended its support.
A few years ago Gulhati suddenly started noticing news articles on droughts and water-related issues across the country. What particularly struck her was an article on 14 million litres of water being wasted every year, simply because customers at restaurants leave behind half-empty glasses. “I started researching on how we waste water without realising it and decided to teach people water management,” she says. She visited several restaurants to pitch the idea of filling only half a glass, which would save 50 per cent of water that was being wasted earlier.
When she started her online petition, it wasn’t easy to convince people who would advice Gulhati to concentrate on her studies. “Many schoolmates would say I was doing this to earn fame as they did not realise the importance of carrying out the drive. It was only my environmental studies teacher who motivated me to take the movement forward,” says the BTech student.
The biggest accolade has been launching an organisation, Why Waste? and receive recognition from several quarters. Gulhati was the only Indian among 60 changemakers between 18 and 23 years to receive the title of ‘Global Changemaker’. “Working towards saving water is worth being off social media and watching fewer TV shows. Neither do I party like most of those my age would,” she says.
Raising awareness
About the partnership, Rahul Singh, president, NRAI, said, “Ninety seven million people in India do not have access to clean drinking water. As a part of the #GlassHalfFull initiative, NRAI will encourage restaurants to adopt sustainable alternatives for reducing consumption of water. We will not only sensitise the restaurant staff but customers as well to reduce wastage of water.”
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Akhila Damadoran / Express News Service / April 08th, 2019
Noted Carnatic singer Vidwan L Ramasesh passes away at 72
Ramasesh a ‘Karnataka Kalashree’ had lent his voice to most of the performances of reputed dancers.
Mysuru :
Noted singer of ‘ Jai Ho’ fame Vijay Prakash’s father Vidwan L Ramasesh passed away here on Sunday. He was 72.
According to Vidwan K Ramamurthy Rao, a family friend of Ramasesh, he was ailing from sometime and was admitted at Kamakshi Hospital here, where he breathed his last.
His mortal remains have been kept at his house near Mata Amrutanandamayi College, AIISH layout in Bogadi.
Ramasesh was a Carnatic classical singer who had lent his voice to most of the performances of reputed dancers. He was also a recipient of ‘Karnataka Kalashree’ award.
The last rites are expected to be performed at MCC crematorium near foothills of Chamundi in the city on Tuesday, once Vijayprakash returns from the United States.
Ramasesh is survived by his wife Lopamudra, two sons Vijayprakash and Phaneendra Kumar.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Karnataka / by Express News Service / April 07th, 2019
Bengaluru college students invent smart helmet, apply for patent
The helmet will be able to send alert GPS location of rider to rescue personnel and has a multi-directional impact protection system.
Bengaluru :
Available in the market soon will be a motorcycle accompanied by a smart helmet which will alert riders of emergency situations while also sending out messages to emergency rescue personnel with the location of the rider, in case of an accident. The e-motorcycle and smart helmet is the invention of a group of 3rd year engineering students of the MVJ College of Engineering from the city. Though not a part of a compulsory class project, they worked on it considering how increasingly, two-wheeler riders were becoming victims of accidents.
Talking about their invention, Saivenkat Patro, an Electronics and Communcations (E&C) student said, “We have applied for patents and also have to conduct trials for the vehicle and helmet. Once this is complete, we will work on permissions from authorities to release these in the market for sale.”
The team plans on selling both products as a package instead of as standalone products. “The cost is going to be quite less. We plan to sell both between Rs 7,000 to Rs 10,000,” he said. The team has named the helmet ‘KAWACH’. Other students in the team are Nikitha, Megha S of Electronics and Communication and Surva Pratim Roy of the Computer Science department.
The team is also working on a helmet for construction and mining site workers and will name it Kawach M&C. Another product is a helmet for children named Kawach Junior. “The sensors placed on the helmet alert the supervisor that an accident has occurred and help needs to be sent immediately. Along with the alert message it also sends the location of the accident to make it easier for the help to locate the victim. This helmet also comes with a mechanical SOS button which the person can use when in need.
The advantage of this technology is that the connection between the supervisor and worker is not lost even in adverse conditions like being underground or in a remote area of the site.” explained the members of the team. “Kawach Junior is a variant specially designed for kids. The smart features included in the helmet are the accident alert system, SOS alert and GPS tracking system.”
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Express News Service / April 06th, 2019
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Bangalore has easily become India’s No. 2 theatre hub
With growing talent and audiences, Bangalore has easily become the country’s No. 2 theatre hub, second only to Bombay
My first tryst with theatre from Bangalore was when a young man called Pawan Kumar performed a solo piece called The Final Rehearsal at Thespo and won a bunch of awards. This was in 2002. Today, over 16 years later, Pawan Kumar is a celebrated Kannada film-maker and has just directed some episodes for a Netflix show. He did revive the play a couple of years ago; I believe it had a good run at Ranga Shankara in Bangalore.
Ranga Shankara was our gateway into Bangalore. We went there first in 2009, and in the decade since, we have been going there quite regularly. Some people suspect that I keep begging for dates so I can eat akki roti at Anju’s Café, a favourite haunt. But the venue, brainchild of Arundhati Nag, is delightful.
I had always imagined Arundhati Nag as an intimidating figure. A doyenne of the theatre. For whom Girish Karnad, another intimidating figure in my mind, wrote Broken Images (Bikhre Bimb). Then I met her, and she was warm, wonderful and supportive. And she recently acted in Bombay, in Q Theatre’s Mother Courage and Her Children. Another legendary, Arundhati (Raja), set up a venue called Jagriti in Whitefield in Bangalore, and attempted longer show runs, like in the West. We were among the first to do 21 shows on the trot there. An unforgettable experience. The Humming Tree is another cool experimental venue, but Ranga Shankara and Jagriti remain favourites.
Joining the list
At Jagriti, I formed a friendship with Vivek Madan, another mythical figure from Bangalore theatre. We had crossed paths, but we hadn’t really spent any time together (basically, we had never gone drinking) and that was soon remedied. Vivek, who had acted in the cult play Butter and Mashed Banana, joined the growing list of Bangalore exports to Bombay. He acted in The Hound of the Baskervilles, and was a revelation. Last month he returned with another play; when Quasar’s Thakore Padamsee directed him in a solo act called Every Brilliant Thing, which blew me away.
Vivek works closely with Abhishek Majumdar, regarded among the finest writer-directors today. Also from Bangalore, Abhishek’s productions have created waves across the country and, of late, internationally. Plays like The Djinns of Eidgah, Gasha, and Kaumudi are on all theatre aficionados’ lists.
Brave and brimming
Sandeep Shikhar, a frequent Majumdar collaborator and also from Bangalore, came to Bombay a few months ago and directed a play he wrote, Open Cast, for a local theatre group. He is a writer brimming over with ideas and a brave director.
The list of migrating/ visiting talent from Karnataka’s capital is quite endless. Anuja Ghosalkar, who worked with the India Foundation for the Arts, keeps visiting with plays produced by Drama Queen, her theatre group. Her form of documentary theatre is unique and riveting. M.D. Pallavi, singer and actor, knocked the socks off audiences across the country with her solo act C Sharp C Blunt. Gulshan Devaiah, now a popular film actor, began his acting career in Bangalore theatre. In fact, he featured in Butter and Mashed Banana. Nimi Ravindran and her company Sandbox Collective do very interesting work, including some popular plays for children. And this is just to name a few.
Besides all the influx from Bangalore (I’m suddenly wondering if I should have said Bengaluru all along, but I’m also saying Bombay, so I’ll just stay old school), the city, in my opinion, is a theatre hub second only to Bombay. I believe Delhi used to be a formidable competitor to Bombay, but Bangalore has left it far behind. At one point, of the 100-odd shows we had of a play, close to 40 were in Bangalore, maybe a touch higher than the number of shows we did in Bombay, where we are based. That to me spoke volumes about the growing theatre market and audiences over there. Also, a couple of my personal favourite productions hail from Bangalore, or have a strong connect. Kaumudi, written and directed by Abhishek Majumdar, which I mentioned earlier, is among the finest plays I have seen. How to Skin a Giraffe, a co-production between Perch from Chennai and Rafiki from Bangalore was brilliant. Both plays are hard to explain, and have to be watched, perhaps even repeatedly, to enjoy their brilliance. So let me wind up with some youth parlance. Bangalore FTW.
The theatre producer and director is often broke. To cope, he writes and directs films and web series and occasionally acts, albeit reluctantly.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Entertainment> Theatre / by Akarsh Khurana / April 06th, 2019