SITAR virtuoso, Dr Kanada Narahari, will perform at L’Aperitivo Venue in uMhlanga next Friday, 24 April. Dr Kanada will be accompanied by Rajish Lutchman on the tabla.
Being the son of renowned Sanskrit scholar, poet and author, Vidvan Narahari Keshava Bhat, who has penned many works on theatre and the traditional performing art of Yakshagaana, it is not surprising that young Kanada Narahari was exposed to Indian performing arts, music and literature at a young age. When he was just nine years old, he enrolled to study Carnatic classical vocal techniques with Vidushi Shreedevi Aravid.
After spending some years under Vidushiji, he began to develop an interest in Hindustani classical music. Dr Narahari qualified as an Ayurvedic doctor and this, he says, allowed him to experiment with the healing properties of classical music, and then began to infuse music into his therapeutic practice. In order to do this effectively, he developed an academic interest in all genres of music and today is widely recognised as a prominent music therapist.
He has evolved into a highly accomplished sitar player, having performed widely in India, Nepal and South Africa. The tabla is a percussion instrument that is used extensively in Indian classical and popular music. It consists of a small right hand drum, called ‘dayan’, and a larger metal one, called ‘bayan’. Rajish studied under the late Ismail Cassim Tai, and his music has been largely influenced by his father, Lutchman Ganpath.
The performances kick off at 7.30pm and tickets are R300. For more information, log onto www.laperitivovenue.co.za.
