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PROMOTERS' NOTE |
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As is well known to regular visitors to our website, Carnatica has undergone several changes over the past few months. Some of these changes have been visible upfront, in the design and layout of the site and some of its popular features. At the same time, there have also been changes and several interesting developments behind the scenes. We have expanded our areas of operation and widened the the range and scope of our activities. OVERSEAS VENTURE Our first international venture is in the United States, where a non-profit organization "Carnatica Arts Center USA" has been registered, with its base in the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. CAC (USA) will undertake and execute, in the US, the activities and events that Srishti's Carnatica and Carnatica Archival Centre have pioneered in India to propagate and popularize Carnatic Music and related arts. Supporting us in this development is Shri. Ramanathan Narayanan, a Wireless Communications engineer by profession and a die-hard sangeetha rasika. Besides being one of the founder-directors of CAC (USA), Ram has also joined the Board of Srishti's Carnatica Pvt. Ltd. as a Director. He will also provide technical and editorial inputs to carnatica.com. In the USA, Carnatica has also established a base in San Jose', California under the care of Shri. Ramesh Srinivasan. Ram, Ramesh and Ms. Kiranavali (San Diego) will be local points of contact for Carnatica's products, publications and programs. CARNATICA GURUKULAM As far as operations in India are concerned, we continue our expansion with a new branch in Anna Nagar, Chennai. In addition to our main office and gurukulam at Shapre Towers in T. Nagar, the Anna Nagar branch will also offer music lessons and other activities for which Carnatica is well-known. Full-fledged Carnatica Gurukulams have also been started in Coimbatore and Bangalore. The Coimbatore activities were thus far confined to the Venkateswarulu Matriculation School, where music instruction is a compulsory part of the school curriculum as a result of Carnatica's pioneering efforts. Traditionally, temples have been the breeding grounds of great musical traditions, on account of grand festival concerts by legendary masters and the special place accorded to majestic instruments like Nagaswaram. In an effort to revive the sagging musical tradition in temples across the state, we will be arranging concerts and special programs on temple premises. Stay tuned for more updates on this score. KREATIV 2003 Our hugely successful talent search and promotion contest "Kreativ 2003" is progressing smoothly in many venues. The second round of the Bangalore contest witnessed a large turnout and was completed recently. This weekend (Aug. 2nd/3rd, 2003) will see the third round of the Chennai contest. UPCOMING EVENTS Carnatica has always been known for new and innovative programs and constant activity. We are reviving the popular RAGANUBHAVA series with a special session and thematic concert on Raga Kharaharapriya, on Saturday, Aug. 2nd. Click here for details. On Monday, Aug. 4th, 2003, Carnatica in association with Bharathiya Vidya Bhavan will be organizing a first-of-its-kind INTERACTIVE LISTENER'S CHOICE CONCERT featuring various popular musicians and a surprise guest artiste! Members from the audience will be able to request songs of their choice and there will be special prizes for guessing the identity of the surprise guest. Click here for more details on this event. We are also planning a whole range of programs for Navaratri and the upcoming Carnatica Anniversary celebrations. The Navaratri events will be at a couple of venues and will feature many popular artistes. The Anniversary events will feature special programs star performers and by students of the Carnatica Gurukulam. And of course, during the Chennai Music Season in December/January we will be having the Carnatica Sangeethanubhava festival. Watch our website for more details. CARNATICA CLUB MEMBERSHIP We would also like to renew our invitation to you to join our Carnatica Club and Listener's Choice features. For a nominal membership fee, you will have access to valuable recordings and archives and you will be entitled to substantial discounts on Carnatica's products, publications and programs. It is also an avenue for supporting our activities aimed at promoting and propagating the cause of Karnaataka Sangeetham. We solicit the active participation of all rasikas in our endeavours and are grateful for all the support and encouragement extended to us thus far! Feel free to express your views on the Rasika Forum or contact us by e-mail or call us at (91)-44-2834 2951/52 or (91)-98410-25692/02492. Yours Musically, Shashikiran, Sowmya & Ramanathan. Aug. 1st, 2003. |
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