Mother India Concerts ~ Free Tickets

Desiblitz have teamed up with the Town Hall & Symphony Hall Birmingham to offer two lucky readers the chance to each win a weekend ticket to three Mother India concerts in Birmingham on 9th, 10th and 11th April 2010!

The weekend will see a range of world class musical masters taking audiences on a journey through the musical heritage of India, from the mystic heights of classical traditions via Anglo-Indian classical fusion to cutting-edge contemporary Asian remixes.

Santoor maestro Pandit Shivkumar Sharma, charismatic Sarod players Amaan and Ayaan Ali Khan, ‘extreme cellist’ Matthew Barley and former World Champion turntablist DJ Tigerstyle are amongst the artists taking part in Mother India.

The event will also feature free-stage events including acclaimed vocalist Sanchita Pal performing at the launch of new Asian chill series Mid-day Mantra and a session by the Arun Ghosh Sextet. Other artists set to take part in future Mid-day Mantras include rising stars Soumik Datta, Faheem Mazar and Indo-Irish band Milun.

Pandit Shivkumar Sharma, is widely regarded as a musical visionary and the pre-eminent maestro of Kashmiri hammered dulcimer, the Santoor. Initiated into music from the age of five by his father the singer Pandit Uma Dutt Sharma, Shivkumar Sharma learnt and mastered the Santoor. Now one of India’s most respected classical musicians, Shivkumar Sharma has penned music for many hit Bollywood films and is the recipient of national and international awards.

Amaan and Ayaan Ali Khan can trace their musical heritage back five generations and continue the family tradition of playing the Sarod – a popular sitar-like North Indian stringed instrument – as learnt from their father, legendary musician Ustad Amjad Ali Khan. Amaan Ali Khan said of their forthcoming collaborative performance with Matthew Barely,

“It is a great honour for us to perform at Town Hall in a festival of this nature. Our journey together with Matthew has evolved and today, we understand each other’s minds and music”

Originally lasting 163 minutes, the hit Bollywood movie, Mother India, charts the story of Radha, an inspiring villager who raises her two small sons on her own after her husband (Raj Kumar) is maimed in an accident. To reflect this epic film during this special weekend; themes of poverty, single parenting, community stigma, lack of education or opportunities and dis-empowerment are all framed by a contemporary electronic and strings based score, written by turntablist DJ Tigerstyle.

In a fitting close to the weekend, Mother India – 21st Century Remix (MI21) takes place at Town Hall on Sunday 11 April. A re-interpretation of the Indian cinema classic as a 45 minute silent movie with new musical score will be performed live by DJ Tigerstyle, drummer David Shaw and cellist Matt Considine with Josh Ford as visual editor.

Completing the weekend is a conversation between audience and artists led by Indy Hunjan of producers Kalaphool which will take place in the auditorium after the performance.

So for lovers of amazing classical Indian instrumental music intermixed with sounds of ethnic electronica, this is one weekend of gems not to be missed!

FREE TICKETS COMPETITION
The competition closed on 8th April 2010 at 2.00pm.

The winners that selected the correct answer to the question: When was the Bollywood film Mother India first released?
The two lucky winners were:
Aaron Wright
Pamela Singh

Terms and conditions for the competition were as follows.

Terms & Conditions

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