The magic of Indian sounds, revived in the Turkmen land
Guests from India who arrived in Ashgabat for the International conference and festival “Ancient Sources of Music Art” addressed the Turkmen audience with an additional concert in the popular “Vatan” concert hall.
Pandit Vinod Lele, a graduate of the Benares music school, compelled attention and hearing of the audience, filling the room with the magical sounds of Tabla – an Indian percussion instrument.
“I've been playing this ancient instrument since I was a kid,” says the musician. “I owe a lot to my teacher Kashinath Khandekar, who carefully taught me the subtleties of the art of tabla sound. This musical instrument is popular not only in India. Over the past decade, it has gained wide popularity in many countries of the world. In higher education institutions of several European countries, such as the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, etc., special courses have been introduced to teach the art of playing on tabla,’ he says.
Earlier, Vinod worked as a teacher for 12 years in one of the most famous universities in his country – the Benares Hindu University, where he gained great authority both as an experienced teacher and as a subtle musician. He performed at various festivals in New Zealand, Australia, France, Belgium and Japan with the magnificent musical compositions.
Today, the students of the maestro – Professor of Delhi University Vinay Mishra on harmonium (keyboard musical instrument), and Sri Lal Chand on dholak (wooden barrel shaped drum) – enjoyed accompanying their mentor at the concert.
Guests from India played a melody of the famous Indian holiday “Festival of Colors”, masterfully performed the famous Bollywood song “Avaru Hu”, and acquainted the audience with the folklore music of India.
During the years of joint work, the musicians have visited various parts of the world, and won the hearts of multilingual and diverse audience of many countries. Today they presented the magic of ancient Indian sounds to Turkmen music lovers, who, in return, greeted talented artists with grateful applause.
