Concert featured Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, P. Unnikrishnan, Raman Kalyan.
By The American Bazaar Staff
DAMASCUS, MD: The Indian classical music lovers of the region were treated to a unique and veritable feast by Hindustani maestro Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, southern vocalist P. Unnikrishnan and Washington’s own celebrated flutist Raman Kalyan here on Saturday night.
The “Carnaataka Sangeetha Harikatha Mahotsavam,” featuring the trio, was part of a fundraising drive for the construction of the Sri Bhaktha Anjaneya Temple in Ijamsville, MD, some 45 miles to the north of Washington, DC.
The concert, which was held at Damascus High School, began with each artist performing solo and ended with a “jugalbandhi” featuring all the three. Three priests from the temple joined the musicians and chanted prayer hymns at the beginning of the jugalbandhi.
Bhatt, who plays Mohan veena, is known in the United States for his Grammy-winning 1993 album “A Meeting by the River,” in which he collaborated with Ry Cooder.
Unnikrishnan stormed the music world in 1994 with the song “Ennavale” in the film “Kadalan,” for which he won the National Award for the Best Male Playback Singer. He was the first singer to receive the prestigious award for a debut song and the first male playback singer to win a national award for a Tamil film song.
The Centerville, VA, resident Kalyan, also known as V.K. Raman, has released more than 50 albums. His album “Music for Deep Meditation,” was recently the number one song on iTunes in the world music category.
The Harikatha Mahotsavam was the second major musical event of the day.
Earlier in the afternoon, popular Carnatic vocalist Vishaka Hari had captivated the audience with a marathon, three-hour long session of devotional songs—Srimad Hanumat Vaibhavam.
Hari, a disciple of Lalgudi Jayaraman, is one of the finest exponents of Harikatha, or religious storytelling.
During the musical extravaganza, the temple also honored three local politicians: Maryland’s Indian American Deputy Secretary of State for Policy and External Affairs Rajan Natarajan, Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett and president of the Frederick County Board of Commissioners Blaine Young.
The Shri Bhaktha Anjaneya Temple construction began a few days ago on a 43-acre large plot of land in Ijamsville. It is the first Anjaneya temple ever built in the United States, according to the organizers.