The 13th edition of London International Arts Festival by Dhruva Arts was celebrated at four venues across London recently, drawing diverse audiences. The festival included array of Carnatic, Hindustani, Ghazal Music and Dance presentations.
The celebrations kicked off at the Nehru Centre with the Festival’s Operations Director Srikanth Sharma outlining its objective and journey of many Avatars spanning over a decade. Dr Jyotsna Srikanth MBE spoke about the journey of an Indian musician, the role of the Western instruments and their influence on the Carnatic melody nuances and presented a fast paced interactive violin concert.
A three- hour thematic Carnatic vocal concert featuring legendary Dr M Balamurali Krishna’s compositions by Srikanth Sharma was held on the second day at the unorthodox North London venue Karamel.
Ghazal-Geet took centre stage at Kings Place with Dev Dutt Joshi taking the audience to a different realm on the third day. Seasoned musicians featuring violin, keyboards, bass guitar, flute, mandolin and guitar have embellished the rendition.
The fourth and the final program of the eclectic festival was celebrated at East London Avanti Court Primary School auditorium. The 6 hour non-stop music included Veena-Duo, Pranava-String trio, Adithya Narayan’s vocal concert, and Percussion Ensemble. Swamini Chidekarasananda Saraswati spoke on the meta-physical aspects of music. More than 30 Bharatanatyam dancers from Guru Aparna Sambashivam’s school Shiv Nartanalyam have presented a visual treat on the occasion.
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