C.Aswath and group to perform at Mumbai

Bangalore, March.31 (NR): For the first time, a well known Sugam Sangeeth group of Karnataka will be performing in the iconic Shanmukhananda Hall in Mumbai. The group headed by award winning musician C.Aswath and other equally well known singers and instrumentalists will be performing on April 19 at 7.00 P.M. The Mumbai's Karnataka Sangha will be organizing the musical concert.

Sharing this happy news with his media friends, singer, lyricist and composer C.Aswath said that he will be accompanied by well known singer M.D.Pallavi, Surpiya, Mangala, Sangeetha Katti, Vijayakumar, Kikkeri and Ravi for this historical musical concert. "I am taking a 54 member team for giving a live performance for 210 minutes. We would be singing nearly 24 Kannada poems written by many renowned Kannada literary personalities," said C.Aswath.

70 year old Aswath said that the opportunity to sing at Shanmukhananda Hall is the best thing that has happened in his musical career which has seen him getting many national and state awards.

"I know that it may sound a little exaggerated. My Bangalore musical concert in 2005 was attended by more than a lac people which is certainly a high point in my career. But I had always dreamt of singing in the Shanmukhananda Hall in Mumbai where several world renowned musical giants have given concerts," said Aswath.

Aswath was the music director for several acclaimed Kannada films like Santha Shishunaala Sherifa, Mysore Mallige, Chinnaari Muththa, and Nagamandala. He won many state awards for music compositions and play back singing in films. The Karnataka Nataka Academy has conferred him with a honourary fellowship in the year 1994 for his many innovations in his musical compositions in many plays. He has also rendered play back for several popular Television serials which have become extremely popular.

Poems written by Jnanapit Award winners and Kannada literature's iconic poets like Dr. Kuvempu, Dr. D.R.Bendre will be part of the musical concert which will see a combination of Bhaavageethe (Expressive poetry) and Janapada Geethe (Folk Music), says Aswath. He along with other noted singers of the group will also render poems written by well known writers like Late K.S.Narasimha Swamy, Late Dr. G.S. Shivarudrappa, Prof. (Late) Gopalakrishna Adiga, H.S.Venkatesha Murthy, H.S.Lakshminarayana Bhatta, Vyasa Rao and the well known 19th century philosopher, social reformer and folk singer Shishunaal Sherif.

According to Manohar Pori, President of the Karnataka Sangha in Mumbai there has been a great demand and inquiry from the Kannada organizations in Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra for bulk bookings for the show which can accommodate 2800 seats.

The Sangha's Vice President Bharath Kumar says that many well known artists from South have performed in the Shanmukhananda Hall where many Kannada musical shows and plays have been enacted. "But this programme is getting a huge response. We hope to conduct many more shows like this in the future," says Kumar.