Reported By:
| Edited By: |Source: PTI |Updated: May 20, 2011, 07:51 PM IST
World renowned flute maestro, Hariprasad Chaurasia, who is among the biggest crowd pullers in Israel, enthralled a capacity crowd here kicking off the musical segment of the three week long Indian festival to commemorate 20 years of Indo-Israel diplomatic ties.
Clearly the most popular Indian musician in Israel, Chaurasia's fourth performance in the city was a much awaited event, which drew his fans from all over the country.
"My dream is to see him perform in India. As someone deeply into vipasana, Chaurasia's music is like a natural extension that works as therapy and heals my mind from all stress", Chris, an Israeli who came from the northern part of the country for the performance, told PTI.
"I often use Hariprasad's music during yoga lessons and my students, even those who have no exposure to India, find it very soothing. There is something captivating in these Ragas that have a universal appeal, Sahar, a yoga teacher in Jerusalem said after attending Charausia's "On the wings of the Raga" performence.
The Indian maestros CDs are a common feature in all the music stores in Israel and he also has several Israelis studying in his Gurukul in Mumbai and Pune.
He does not find it surprising that Yoga practitioners in Israel are drawn towards the 'Bansuri' as he sees it also as "a kind of yoga given the breathing exercise involved in it".
"Music is a wonderful medium of inter-cultural encounters and it is a great feeling to see some of my Israeli students internalising the the concept of Sangeet as a worship and getting deeply involved in it," Chaurasia told PTI.
Brushing aside a question about the lack of promising talent playing flute, the musician said that "there are several good flute players and the tradition associated with God Krishna will continue to thrive".
The audience burst into long spells of clapping during the performance with several spells of jugalbandis leaving them spellbound.
Chaurasia was accompanied by Vijay Ghate (tabla), Bhavani Prasad Kathak (pakhavaj), Nayanshree Chaurasia (tanpura) and Sunil Avachat (bansuri).
"The way audiences have responded to the Indian cultural events is very encouraging and will help to keep the tradition alive in the coming years", India's Ambassador to Israel, Navtej Sarna, told the capacity crowd assembled at Jerusalem Theatre's Henry Crown Hall.
Indian music fans in Israel await performances by Pandit Ritwik Sanyal, classical folk and Sufi songs of Zila Khan and Indian electric fusion by the Mrigya group in the coming days, spread across several cities in the country.
