ARTIST OF THE WEEK: Kiran Seth
Here’s another movement from the man who changed India’s cultural scene sitting at a University in the United States 36 years ago. After taking Indian music and performing arts across India and abroad through Spic Macay, its founder, Dr Kiran Seth has launched Naad Bhed, a reality TV show on Doordarshan where legends TN Krishnan, Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma and Ustad Amjad Ali Khan are expected to judge the contestants. He says, “This will be a game changer. In the West, even a garbage collector knows who Beethoven is, but here even educated people are unaware of our classical legends. The show will bring classical music to the people.” The show will feature Hindustani and Carnatic music covering six categories, with awards for vocalists, instrumentalists and accompanists and will travel to 20 centres.