BENGALURU: In celebration of India’s 75th year of Independence, the Indian Music Experience Museum (IME) is organising the Freedom Festival, a three-day music festival, in collaboration with Carnatica and Banglanatak. Musicians from across the country will perform various genres of traditional music this country is home to.
The festival is at IME in JP Nagar and will conclude on Aug. 28. “We will be having Carnatic, Hindustani and folk musicians performing. To celebrate the Freedom Festival, we wanted to present an event that represents the music of India, which is rooted in classical and folk traditions,” says Manasi Prasad, a Carnatic classical vocalist and museum director of IME. Carnatic vocalist RK Padmanabha, who performed on an inaugural day, feels Bengaluru is a great place for such a multicultural music festival.
“The Bengaluru folks have a great taste for all cultural activities. People will appreciate the variety of programmes at this festival, ” says Padmanabha. As many as 13 concerts will be performed in the three-day celebration. As folk music is part of every Indian region, musicians from Karnataka, Rajasthan and West Bengal will be representing the country’s folk lineage at this year’s festival. Padma Vibhushan awardee Dr Umayalpuram Sivaraman will also be rendering a special performance at the festival.
“Seventy-five years of Independence is such a significant milestone not just for Indian history, but also for Indian culture and its representation on global platforms. One of the most important parts of that culture is our rich music and dance tradition, for which I am so grateful. It is in this wonderful country that I have been able to pursue my passion for Carnatic music,” says singer and composer Sudha Ragu - nathan.