A Festival of South Asian Classical Music
New Delhi, India, 2008

It is popularly believed that the Hindustani or Carnatic classical music is only practiced in India. Very few people would know that its practitioners and listeners are also spread in South Asian countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.

This proposal seeks to initiate a annual festival of classical music involving artists from all over South Asia on one platform where they not only perform their music but also engage in a dialogue that allows them to understand each other’s versions. For 2008, we (a group of media and arts professionals) hope to bring in some of the following artists from South Asia to Delhi for a concert.

Naseeruddin Saami (Karachi)
Ustad Saami, a Khayal vocalist from Pakistan, belongs to the Dilli gharana of Hindustani classical music. His family migrated from Delhi to Karachi in 1947, and went through difficult times to pursue and preserve the music tradition they had inherited for last 700 years from the famous musician-poet Amir Khusrau of Delhi. Ustad Saami learnt from various ustads including his uncle Munshi Raziuddin who also taught Qawwali to his sons, the famous Fareed Ayaz qawwals of Pakistan. Ustad Saami performs with his sons Rauf Ahmed and Urooj Ahmed.

Asit Kumar Dey (Dhaka)
Asit is an experienced Khayal singer from Dhaka, Bangladesh, one of the very few in his country. Asit spent several years in Delhi learning from gurus such as Pandit Amarnath.

Noor Zehra Kazim (Lahore) Noor Zehra, born in Lahore, has been learning Sitar and Veena from various ustads including Shareef Khan Poonchwale. She performs on Sagar-Veena, a unique instrument developed by her lawyer-musicologist father Raza Kazim, who has been working on this instrument for over 36 years, and aims to re-create a mode of emotional communication through this instrument. Sagar-Veena has been performed at various occasions in Pakistan, Japan and other countries. This is the first time it would be performed in India. More details at Sanjannagar Institute, Lahore

Ustad Nafees Ahmed (Karachi)
Nafees Ahmed Khan is an accomplished Sitar player from Pakistan. Equally proficient in solo and accompaniment forms of sitar playing, his strength is his command over rhythmic interplay. He learnt his art from his father, the illustrious Sitar Nawaz Ustad Fateh Ali Khan. As a young boy, he was first trained as a vocalist. His gharana of Kapurthala (Punjab) is known for its Gayaki Ang. He has traveled extensively and performed all over the world. Currently he is the head of the Music department at the National Academy of Performing Arts, Karachi. In his position, he is very keen on this collaborative project.

Ustad Aslam Khan (Mumbai)
A vocalist specializing in Khayal, thumri and ghazal gayeki, Aslam Khan has an in-depth knowledge of the history of different gharana. He himself hails from the Dilli gharana.

More details about this event would be available soon as we finalize the plans. We also solicit support from individuals and institutions for holding the concert. Such an endeavour is not possible without your help. For details please contact us.