HYDERABAD: When art is used for charitable causes, that is bound to be a cheer-worthy event. One such event is the forthcoming ‘A Tribute to Begum Akhtar’, being organised by Art for Causes (AFC) at the Taj Krishna on August 12.
The event is a fund-raiser and as the name suggests, it will be a homage to legendary musician Begum Akhtar. She was a renowned exponent of the ghazal, thumri and dadra genres of Hindustani classical music. She was among the earliest female musicians to cut discs. She also acted in a few Hindi movies during the 1930s and sang her own songs in these films.
She is credited with around 400 songs on record. This programme on Sunday will see a performance by well-known Hindustani classical musician Vidya Shah. The choice is natural – Vidya is not only an accomplished vocalist but also a student of Begum’s senior disciple Shanti Hiranand. Vidya will be collaborating with the actor-storyteller Danish Husain. The two will bring alive the life and times of this great artiste of Lucknow, through a music performance and recount a few, lesser-known anecdotes from her life. They will be accompanied by Ghulam Ali on the sarangi, Prakash Thakur on the tabla and Badlu Khan on the harmonium.
As Amita Talwar, Founder, AFC, reveals, “I have heard Vidya sing a couple of times and love her voice and the kind of work that she has been doing. She is extremely versatile and creative. I grew up listening to Begum Akhtar who is my all time favourite and when Vidya suggested this production for our fundraiser, we fell for it.”
There will be a showcasing and sale of art as part of the event. A few paintings and photographs will be displayed at the venue and an e-catalogue will be sent to people who register with info@artforcauses.com. Some of the paintings and multimedia prints on display at the venue have been specially created for the event, by Amita. They constitute an unusual combination of photographs and paintings merged together--mixed media experiments. There will be around 15 artworks on display.
Eminent artist Thota Vaikuntam will be inaugurating the art show at 7:30 pm. Vaikuntam is one of India’s best-known painters. Born in Telangana, he has been painting for decades and his work has been exhibited all over India and in many prestigious venues abroad. He draws his inspiration largely from rural life and men and women of the village figure in his paintings. Among the most frequent subjects of his work are Telangana rural women. He has experimented with a large variety of mediums. Vaikuntam has also been the art director for a national award winning Telugu film Daasi.
AFC has been working for the weaker sections of society. Talking about AFC, Amita explains: “AFC is a registered non-profit organisation. The idea of AFC is to promote arts, and raise funds to support significant social causes such as health care and education for the under privileged. Since its inception in 2014, AFC has been involved in four fundraisers. Last year, to raise funds for its educational initiatives, AFC organised a unique online art auction in called ‘Power of 100’, in which over a hundred artists from different countries participated.”
A Tribute to Begum Akhtar
Date: August 12, Sunday
Venue: Taj Krishna
The event will happen over cocktails and dinner
Preview of art from 7 pm to 8 pm. Thota Vaikuntam will inaugurate the art exhibition at 7:30 pm. The concert begins at 8 pm and will be followed by dinner