Classical Showdown

City-based musician Meghana Sardar is organising a Hindustani Classical showdown featuring tabla maestro Pandit Vijay Ghate,Pandit Niladri Kumar on the sitar,veteran Dhrupad singer Pandit Uday Bhawalkar and Pandit Pratap Awad on the Pakhwaj.

City-based musician Meghana Sardar is organising a Hindustani Classical showdown featuring tabla maestro Pandit Vijay Ghate,Pandit Niladri Kumar on the sitar,veteran Dhrupad singer Pandit Uday Bhawalkar and Pandit Pratap Awad on the Pakhwaj. The performance will begin at 6 pm on October 6 at the Shetty auditorium in Kalmadi Shamarao High School,off Karve Road. Ghate is much appreciated for his international collaborative projects with jazz guitarist,Larry Coryell and saxophonist George Brooks. He has often performed at local concerts with Kumar,who was deemed a child prodigy at four,has created his own modified sitar. The concert is open to everybody and the profits from passes are donated to charity.

Lovable beats

Sangeeta Kopalkar recently launched her new music album titled Luv Zaala under the label of Venus Music. Her discography includes an item song from the film 3 Bevde on baton of Dilip Sen and Sameer Sen,several pop songs like Humnasheen,Kahi Pe Nigahe Kahi Pe Nishana and more. Luv Zaala has a variety of moods with a special Mumbaiyya touch. The album also features some happy numbers that relate to the celebrations of local festivals like Ganesh Chaturthi and Navratri. Raju Kulkarni,music composer for the album,has focused on local sounds and tunes where as lyricists M Prakash and Rajesh Bamugade explore various aspects of life and emotions. Kopalkar imbibed inspiration to become a singer from her musically-inclined family. She has not only lent her voice to melodious Marathi tracks but has also explored her talent by singning in other languages like Gujarati,Oriya and Bhojpuri.

Book-ed

City-based author Salil Desai is ready with his third book,Lost Libido and Other Gulp Fiction. The work is a compilation of tight-plotted short stories that range from satire,humour,crime,to horror and tragedy for pleasurable reading. The stories revolve around people caught in the chaotic,cultural flux of urban India and focus on their reactions to the problems and temptations of the urban lifestyle. Desai’s first book,The Body in the Back Seat (2011),and his second novel,Murder on a Side Street (2011),have been well received by readers worldwide. An alumnus of FTII,Desai conducts workshops on fiction writing and film making for aspiring authors and film makers in the city.

Joyful celebrations

Keeping with the celebrations of the ‘Joy of Giving Week’,Courtyard by Marriott Pune City Centre conducted a training workshop for housemaids on October 4. The maids had an interactive session with their in-house chef,who took them through a culinary ride and taught a few easy-to-cook recipes after which they were given further training in housekeeping by the hotel employees. The Courtyard by Marriott Pune Hinjewadi donated clothes,toys and books to the underprivileged children of Deep Griha NGO. The children were also treated to fun games,cake and condiments at the property. The Marriott properties in the city will come together for a clean-up drive of the Sambhaji Park on October 6.

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