Uttarakhand performers head to Auckland for show

Ratna Venkat – 

Ancient Greek philosopher Plato once said, “Music gives a soul to the Universe, wings to the mind and flight to the imagination.”

These, plus a range of other emotions are set to occur at the forthcoming programme of ‘Baduli 2017,’ presented by Uttarakhand Association of New Zealand (UANZ) on Sunday, April 16, 2017 from 1030 am at Avondale College, located at 51 Victor Street in Avondale.

Tickets to the event are priced at $30 per person while children under five years old would have free entry.

Artistes from Uttarakhand

Musicians and singers from the North Indian state of Uttarakhand will be entertaining Aucklanders with their live rendition of traditional, folk and fusion songs at the forthcoming programme, which is open to all ethnicities.

UANZ is also proud to be associated with Starship Foundation and has shown its support with a donation earlier this year.

Following are the musicians participating in Baduli 2017:

Subhash Pandey – a player of Tabla and Dhol Damau.

Deepak Maher, a vocalist and guitar player. A former top contestant in Indian Idol, he is famous for his ‘Pahadi fusion’ song ‘Bol chitti Kile Ni bhaiji.’

Kishna Bagoht – a standup comedian.

Manglesh Dangwal – a vocalist who will be presenting folk songs and traditional music known as ‘Pahadi,’ which is said to be soul-stirring.

Maya Upadhyay – a vocalist and folk singer who will represent the Kumauni part of Uttarakhand at the concert.

Pankaj Nath – An Indian flute (Bansuri) player known for his contribution to music in Uttarakhand.

Rakesh Bhardwaj – a percussionist who will be seen playing the Dholak, Hudka and Morchang. Known for his song ‘Bedupako,’ Rakesh is the son of late Shri Chander Singh Rahi who was a legendary singer of Uttarakhand. He is also in the band ‘Euphoria’ in his home state.

Virender Negi – a vocalist who also plays the Keyboard & Harmonium. Singing in the traditional styles of Kumauni and Gadwali, his songs have featured in an internationally awarded film on Uttarakhand.

UANZ is hopeful that Auckland will encourage these young artistes of Uttarakhand, who carry the responsibility of taking forward the musical journey and passion of Uttarakhandi culture to the next generation.