AID (San Diego) – Dr. L. Subramaniam in concert…

Dr. L. Subramaniam - Resonance (Concert 5th Sept 2008)

Association for India’s Development (AID) is a voluntary non-profit organization committed to promoting sustainable, equitable, and just development in India. In solidarity with grassroots organizations and non-violent people’s movements. AID supports projects and campaigns in various interconnected spheres such as education, health, livelihood generation, women’s empowerment, natural resources management, and social justice. With 36 chapters in the US and 10 chapters in India, AID has supported over 350 projects in 18 different states of India and currently supports 100 ongoing projects. To learn more about AID wide efforts and projects, please visit: http://aidindia.org/.

Over a 1000 volunteers of AID primarily consist of students and young professionsals.

AID is registered with the US Federal Government as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, and its Federal Tax-ID is 04-3652609.

AID San Diego
The San Diego chapter of AID was started in May’99, and currently we have about 10 regular volunteers. We currently support over 10 projects and 2 Saathiships. We meet every Saturday at 2pm for our Community Service Hour (CSH) at a location convenient for volunteers. Some of our main activities include reviewing and coordinating development projects in India; fundraising for disbursing funds to such projects; organizing talks and screening documentaries to learn more about issues that are related to sustainable and just development and participating in local community volunteering initiatives.

Toronto: Masala! Mehndi! Mast! – North America’s largest South Asian Cultural Festival (25th – 27th July 2008)

Masala! Mehndi! Masti! 2008

The largest multi-disciplinary South Asian Arts festival outside of South Asia, Masala! Mehndi! Masti! has celebrated annually for 7 years presenting South Asian culture and South Asian inspired culture in a professional, fun and mainstream environment, downtown Toronto (originally at Harbourfront Centre and now at the CNE grounds).Image

This spectacular multi-generational presentation connects today’s world with the wonders of 5000 years of civilization, its ancient traditions and modern influences. Our vision is not only to make South Asians proud of their heritage but to make them proud partners in Canadian culture. It provides an opportunity to established and emerging artists in traditional and contemporary spheres of music, dance, film, theatre, literature and poetry, natural health practices, social issues, cuisine, arts & crafts and much more. We open doors to cross cultural collaborations and diverse thinking.

The facts:

• Attendance growth: 25,000 to over 100,000, from 2001 – 2007
• Free entry and over 80 free events/performances each year 4 stages, film theatre, art gallery, 12 restaurants, 24 vendors, kids camp, workshops & seminars Artists from Australia, New Zealand, Japan, UK, Trinidad, Pakistan, India, US Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and across Canada
• Sponsors have included: Rogers, TD Canada Trust, OMNI TV, General Motors, Toronto Star, State Farm Insurance, Telus Mobility, Royal Bank of Canada, Sumeet Kitchen Machines, Knorr Foods, J.W. Marriot Hotel, Patak’s, Magic Feet Canada and various media sponsors
• Grant support: Heritage Canada, Ontario Arts Council, Ontario Trillium Foundation, British Council, Ontario Ministry of Tourism Programming partners: FILMI Film Festival, South Asian Visual Arts Collective (SAVAC), Coalition of Agencies Serving South Asians (CASSA), Alliance for South Asian Aids Prevention (ASAAP), South Asian Legal Clinic of Ontario (SALCO), South Asian Women’s Centre (SAWC) and the Masala! Mehndi! Masti! Programming Team.

Today, South Asian culture is the hippest thing shaking the planet; from Bollywood to classical music, haute couture to hot cuisine. This big wave of culture will not just make a mark on arts and entertainment, but with India becoming an economic super power and South Asians succeeding in every industry they enter, the populace has become more influential, socially, economically and politically. South Asians make up the largest visible minority group in the Greater Toronto Area (source: STATSCAN).

Come celebrate with us! ‘Global South Asians, Proud Canadians!’

Jyoti Rana
Director of Operations, SAA
email: jrana@satyaarts.com

The festival is produced by Satya Arts Association, an incorporated not for profit (NFP) organization with a 25 member advisory team who include: Abhishek Mathur, Jyoti Rana, Todd Nichol, Lachman Balani, Salima Rawji, Syma Shah, Sangeeta Vishwanathan, Madhvi Mathur, Shawn Binda, Rosina Kazi, Dinesh Sachdev, Asif Kamal, Gautam Sehgal, Arti Premjee, Ronnie Dayal, R Kamdar, Sumeeta Kohli, Shibani Rana and Hannah Fisher.

COBCA: Bangamela 2008 (Columbus, Ohio)

The 10th Annual Bangamela, sponsored by the Mid America Bengali Association, will be held in Columbus, Ohio, on behalf of COBCA, the Central Ohio Bengali Cultural Association on July 18th, 19th & 20th 2008 at The Columbus, A Renaissance Hotel and the Capitol Theatre. US-Bangladesh-India business forum will held on July 17 at the Renaissance Hotel.

Bangamela 2008 (Columbus, Ohio) - 18th, 19th & 20th July 2008

The word “Bangamela” literally means a confluence of Bengalis (people with roots in Bengal, India and Bangladesh) at a fair showcasing Bengal’s artistic, cultural and literary heritage. Consistent with the constitution of Mid America Bengali Association (MABA), our objective is to recreate the rich cultural heritage of West Bengal, India and Bangladesh during BangaMela 2008 (BM2008) at Columbus, Ohio USA. Bengal is blessed with a rich and diverse culture. The event will also promote multicultural enrichment in the mid-America region through participation in this diversified cultural event. The programs, forums, exhibitions and various activities are designed to promote cultural and business exchange between Northern America, India and Bangladesh.

Moderation Script (07/2008): RAGAMALIKA – Carnatic Composition (Raga CDs of the Months)

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Raga CDs of the months (07/08): RAGAMALIKAS… Compositions in South Indian Classics

Ragamalika means “Garland of Ragas” in it’s literary sense. It is a very popular composition form of South Indian Classics, the Carnatic music. The music system of Indian Classics exhibits thousands of raga scales and hundreds of rhythm circles, the tala-s. Many composers of the Indian classical period were concerned with this broad field and a created a multiplicity of so called ragamalika compositions.

The ragamalika-s are delightful compositions. A ragamalika consists of different raga-s; gentle and melodious flow of the music, from one raga to the next. The selection of the raga-s and their arrangement in a ragamalika composition are based simply on aesthetic considerations.

date of broadcasting…

1st July 2008 – 09:00-09:58 p.m. MESTZ (03:00 p.m. EST) @ Tide 96.0 FM (DE)
InternetStream (Internet Radio & Mobile Radio) | PodCast | Dates of Broadcasting

Muthuswami Dikshitar (1776 – 1834)

In the Middle Ages of India the musical form of the ragamalika-s was well-known as Raga Kadambakam. Kadamba is a garland, twisted from different flowers.

Ragamalika Chakravarti ! – The King of the Ragamalika. – So Ramaswami Dikshitarcould be called. This Indian composer lived from 1735 till 1817. R. Dikshitar made history as a proven expert in the composition of the longest Ragamalika-s. His texts (lyrics) of all his Ragamalika-s are in Telegu, the third biggest dravidic language of India, beside Hindi and Bengali.

The number of Ragas, which are used in an individual composition, can vary from two to 72. The longest composition consists of 108 Ragas, it’s the “Ashtottara Shata Raga Tala malika” of Muthuswami Dikshitar (1776-1834), son of Ramswami Dikshitar and member of the musical trinity of the South Indian Classsics (beside Tyagaraja and Syama Sastra).

Ramaswami Dikshitar’s ragamalika-s (selection)

• The ragamalika `Samajagamana ninnu korinadira‘ consists of 20 ragas, in the rhythm structure “Ad(h)i Tala” (8 beats). It is dedicated to King Amarasimhan, who was a Marahtta regent of Tanjavur.
• The ragamalika ‘Manasa Verutarula‘ consists of a set of 48 ragas, 8 beats (Ad(h)i Tala). It is dedicated to Lord Venkateswara, a shape form of the Hindu Goddess Vishnu. Venkateswara is the destroyer of the human sins.

Prasanna (electric guitar) performs 14 raga ragamalika kriti (part 1)

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Prasanna (electric guitar) performs 14 raga ragamalika kriti (part 2)

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