ITC Sangeet Research Academy (ITC-SRA), one of the premiere
institutes for Hindustani classical music, will celebrate 25 years of its existence with a
three-day feast for music lovers beginning this Friday.
Mr. Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, West Bengal’s chief
minister, will inaugurate the function as the chief guest.
A host of noted vocalists and instrumentalists will perform
at the silver jubilee celebrations.
Among them will be Ustad Vilayat Khan, Ajoy Chakraborty,
Parween Sultana, Rashid Khan, Srinivasa Rao and Girija Devi, who will present the annual
ITC awards for excellence in music.
Meanwhile, the ITC-SRA aims to step up collaboration with
the ethno-music departments and academicians in the US and Europe.
With a rich library of around 15,000 hours of classical
Hindustani music, perhaps the best collection after All India Radio’s, ITC-SRA
organisers believe that the institute can play an important role in spreading India’s
rich heritage.
Said Mr. Amit Mukherjee, executive director of ITC-SRA,
" One of our plans in the silver jubilee year is to establish close relationship with
various music academies. We have seen that many people in European countries are
interested in Hindustani classical music. We want this occidental interest to grow through
collaboration and exchange programmes."
