Descent from the skies

Star India wants to include Indian classical dance as part of its cultural responsibility. Strain your ears, and you might hear what it is doing for classical Indian music. Delhi's diplomatic area is still echoing with the sound of a Carnatic vocal concert by musician T S Krishna, who played last Saturday at Nehru Park. His was not an isolated performance.

In the recent past, the park has resounded to the santoor strings of Pandit Shivkumar Sharma, the "taal" (beat) of Ustad Zakir Hussain's tabla, and the voices of vocalists like Shubha Mudgal, Parveen Sultana and Kishori Amonkar. Courtesy Star TV's latest cultural initiative.

"The idea was not only to promote but also to protect the Indian classical music genre," says Ravi Kumar, vice president, corporate affairs, Star India.

The initiative that started in September 2004 as a fortnightly dawn event, its prime mover being New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC), has shifted to evening concerts and could soon become weekly. A sum of nearly Rs 2 crore has already been spent by Star on the programme.

"We are financing the project while SPIC-MACAY foundation contracts the artistes, takes care of them and essentially gets the stage and sound organised," says Kumar. NDMC's role is part of its charter: "to do its bit to improve the quality of urban living by inducing a sense of culture".

What's more, Indian classical dance could come in too. "The Music in the Park series has become a part of every thinking Delhiite's weekend diary," says Kumar, "we don't get less than 4,000-5000 people for the musical concerts." In fact, Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma and Ustad Zakir Hussain's show on February 26 had nearly 8,000 people turning up.

The artistes seem thrilled too. Says music maestro Pandit Rajan Mishra, "Classical music, when played in the lap of nature creates true harmony. Music In The Park is a wonderful initiative that should also be held all over the country."

But there are other classical art forms in need of support as well. Folk musicians in the interiors of Indian villages, for example, who are fighting to keep alive not just their music, but also their hearth and flagging spirits under all the raazmatazz.

Is Star listening?