Tuesday, November 10, 2009
tirugu prayanam- telugu ghazal
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Monday, November 9, 2009
For a Noble cause through Telugu ghazal- An interview with Dr Ghazal Srinivas By Telugu Diaspora
For a Noble Cause through Telugu Ghazal – An Interview with Dr. Ghazal Srinivas
A highly acclaimed performer, Dr. Ghazal Srinivas, is a household name among the Telugus. Telugu Ghazal is his forte and he is lauded for his invaluable contribution to the promotion of this unique art. Having reached the peak, he has redrawn the boundaries of popular culture through his harmonious mixture of both performance and entertainment. Indians in United States of America, England, Wales, Scotland, Singapore, Malaysia, Kuwait, Qatar, Dubai, Sharjah, Australia, Sri Lanka, Muscat, Oman, Abudhabi, and in many more countries have witnessed his performances during his 24 years of journey.
TLS Bhaskar*: Ghazal performance is quite different from other performances that we know such as kuchipudi, folk dance, dramas etc. It is solely an individual performance. As a performer, how do you relate your performance with other performances?
Ghazal Srinivas: I conceive my thoughts, and I conceive my music and even compose it. These thoughts, with a focus on human values and emotions, are about day-to-day relationships which I see with empathy instead of sympathy. The thoughts are then put in form of a ghazal which I sing for each and every individual and kanjeera is the only accompaniment to my singing. I believe in this Persian style of singing using a tamburin.
In every performance I begin with a curtain raiser to involve the audience in the performance, and during the performance I talk to them in between about their experiences, feelings in life, and life-instances that have touched their heart.
TLS: How can a singer be a ghazal singer?
GS: We should understand ghazal is not about music, but it is poetry and the singer gives utmost respect to the lyric than music. Now these lyrics, written in a very simple language, talk about our daily experiences, that you and me, as part of this society, experience every day. I see my performances as an attempt to unveil the feelings of the essence of the poetry.
TLS: Is the core activity writing the lyric? How important is the context when you attempt to write a lyric?
GS: Yes, lyric is important, but conceptualising according to the context is crucial. Let me explain in detail through a series of examples too.
Of late, I am performing overseas in various programs organised by our Telugus overseas, or the NRIs. Each of my performances begin with a thought process about various issues that our Telugus overseas face- beginning from the journey they had to make before entering the distant chosen land to missing the motherland. I try to visualise the processes by keeping myself in their shoes to imagine their life-experiences in order to conceive my thoughts. Let me tell you they miss very normal situations that you and I experience in this land. They miss palakarimpulu (informal greetings by family), they miss amma gorimuddalu (affectionate feeding by mother to her kids), they miss the breeze of motherland, the fragrance of it, they miss their parents etc. Now these may look very negligible, but I think they are the core of the feelings that our Telugus overseas really miss every day. Now, what should I do as a performer? My objective is to relate with them with their experiences.
The next thing I do is involve in writing the appropriate lyrics with assistance from almost 20 writers who are guided by me. I am very clear about what I am going to perform because ultimately I have to satisfy my audience and I can do it only when I relate to their lives and life-experiences. The best reward I get every time is when many of the audience come to and say it was the best performance they have attended of any kind.
Let me refer to what we all see in airports. We see parents giving send off to their children whom they will see only after 2-3 years. What do parents tell them? “Read well, take care of your health, call us when you reach, write to us often, call their relatives in need of help, etc”. Now this looks very normal and simple right? But I would say this is the core of the experiences that I think I can relate to overseas Telugus when I perform. I will visualise how their life would be without seeing their parents and family for almost 2-3 years on an average. I think this situation is definitely not easy and it is associated with lot of emotion. And my poetry and performance is about human emotions and an attempt to invoke their feelings.
TLS: Visualizing the human emotions in different cultures invites lot of challenges. How do you know about local cultures when you go abroad?
GS: The real challenges are visualization of experiences and translating them to appropriate lyrics. Engaging the audience can happen when we make them a part of our performance, and we can do that only when we relate to their lives. I try to release their stress by making them completely involve during the performance. I am not merely singing some poetry; I am actually singing my philosophy that focuses on my belief and my values.
Whenever I visit overseas, I take time and go to various book stores, buy native poetry and try to understand it. This greatly helps me in understand t he “local” and guides me to design my performance in a more meaningful way to relate with what the “local” culture is about.
TLS: Every performance is so unique. Is there any one that you count as the best?
GS: My best performance is the one I am performing tomorrow, the next one which is yet to come. It is a learning every day for a performer like me. Literature and music teach us every day.
TLS: Where do you take inspiration from?
GS: I take inspiration from Kesiraju Srinivas (...laughs, it’s me...). He had always a dream, a dream to be a global performer. He always had the determination and confidence to achieve the dream. Beginning 1986, he became Ghazal Srinivas, who has given 6000 performances in 24 years.
TLS: Do performers have a social responsibility?
GS: My performances focus on a better tomorrow. Each of us has to question ourselves on what kind of tomorrow each of us are giving to our future generation. This might look very ideal, but I think every citizen has a responsibility and thus requires immediate action. I often give performances in jails, orphanages and old age homes. I make it mandatory to visit these every year.
I have adopted an orphanage called NICE in Mynampadu, Guntur district and we support 125 children. I have founded the Ghazal Charitable Trust, Ghazal Srinivas Foundation, and in publication of books, organizing seminars, mushaiaars on ghazals. We also have begun the work on www.telugughazal.com to promote the art of Telugu ghazal. I am very thankful to the LANCO group and its founder Sri. L. Rajagopal, Member of Parliament from Vizayawada , with which I collaborate for my performances on Peace, and with many other NGOs and UNICEF on various social issues. I have given voice to various videos that focus on social issues like child labour, women’s empowerment, AIDS Awareness, Girl Child Education, Nutrition to Pregnant Women, etc., and issues pertaining to national integrity.
TLS: Peace has been an integral part of your activities. Why peace?
GS: Unrest in any society creates havoc in many forms. It leads to actions that are not rooted in reasoning and self-questioning. I believe such actions spiral into various social problems that societies like us have to deal with. More importantly, we all live in constant fear where love and harmony are at stake.
People talk at length on peace, but I find very few people actually work to translate their thoughts into action. The problem is we dream every day to achieve it, but I have dreamt only once that I should focus my thoughts and performances on peace, and I am working on a daily basis on how I can contribute to world peace. We are now trying to bring out albums on the Indo Pak Peace Yatra. The Peace Walk from Delhi to Multan in Pakistan with a distance of 1538 KM in 58 days was an enriching one for me personally.
We have brought out a series of albums on peace beginning with the Shanti Yatra in 2005, which is dedicated to the Indo-Pak Peace Process and was released by our former President of India, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam. Consequently, we released Shanti Yatra – Part II during 2006 in Lahore during my hunger strike against Global Violence. The release was done by the Pakistani younger generation at large during an event.
Satyagraha Sandes Yatra was released both in Hindi and Gujarati, by the UPA Chairperson, Smt. Sonia Gandhi and Mr. Devghad Baray, Member of Parliament, in Gujarat, in 2007 commemorating the centenary celebrations of Mahatma Gandhi’s Satyagraha movement. Following that, the musical tribute to Mahatma Gandhi in 2008, performed in 100 global languages was a Guinness Record. I am trying to extend this to 125 languages through my audio album on “The Path of Mahatma Gandhi”.
Acharya Nagarjuna University conferred honorary doctorate on Dr. Ghazal Srinivas for his contributions to promoting the art of singing Telugu Ghazal and world peace. Born to Ratnavali and Narasimha Rao, Ghazal Srinivas is married to Surekha and they have a daughter, Samskruti. Samskruti accompanies her famous father on tours and is a budding Telugu Ghazal performer.
For a detailed note on Dr. Ghazal Srinivas
www.ghazalsrinivas.com
* T.L.S.Bhaskar is the founder of TeluguDiaspora.com. He is currently involved in documenting the first ever reader on Telugu Diaspora. You may want to contact him at +91-9848515151.
A highly acclaimed performer, Dr. Ghazal Srinivas, is a household name among the Telugus. Telugu Ghazal is his forte and he is lauded for his invaluable contribution to the promotion of this unique art. Having reached the peak, he has redrawn the boundaries of popular culture through his harmonious mixture of both performance and entertainment. Indians in United States of America, England, Wales, Scotland, Singapore, Malaysia, Kuwait, Qatar, Dubai, Sharjah, Australia, Sri Lanka, Muscat, Oman, Abudhabi, and in many more countries have witnessed his performances during his 24 years of journey.
TLS Bhaskar*: Ghazal performance is quite different from other performances that we know such as kuchipudi, folk dance, dramas etc. It is solely an individual performance. As a performer, how do you relate your performance with other performances?
Ghazal Srinivas: I conceive my thoughts, and I conceive my music and even compose it. These thoughts, with a focus on human values and emotions, are about day-to-day relationships which I see with empathy instead of sympathy. The thoughts are then put in form of a ghazal which I sing for each and every individual and kanjeera is the only accompaniment to my singing. I believe in this Persian style of singing using a tamburin.
In every performance I begin with a curtain raiser to involve the audience in the performance, and during the performance I talk to them in between about their experiences, feelings in life, and life-instances that have touched their heart.
TLS: How can a singer be a ghazal singer?
GS: We should understand ghazal is not about music, but it is poetry and the singer gives utmost respect to the lyric than music. Now these lyrics, written in a very simple language, talk about our daily experiences, that you and me, as part of this society, experience every day. I see my performances as an attempt to unveil the feelings of the essence of the poetry.
TLS: Is the core activity writing the lyric? How important is the context when you attempt to write a lyric?
GS: Yes, lyric is important, but conceptualising according to the context is crucial. Let me explain in detail through a series of examples too.
Of late, I am performing overseas in various programs organised by our Telugus overseas, or the NRIs. Each of my performances begin with a thought process about various issues that our Telugus overseas face- beginning from the journey they had to make before entering the distant chosen land to missing the motherland. I try to visualise the processes by keeping myself in their shoes to imagine their life-experiences in order to conceive my thoughts. Let me tell you they miss very normal situations that you and I experience in this land. They miss palakarimpulu (informal greetings by family), they miss amma gorimuddalu (affectionate feeding by mother to her kids), they miss the breeze of motherland, the fragrance of it, they miss their parents etc. Now these may look very negligible, but I think they are the core of the feelings that our Telugus overseas really miss every day. Now, what should I do as a performer? My objective is to relate with them with their experiences.
The next thing I do is involve in writing the appropriate lyrics with assistance from almost 20 writers who are guided by me. I am very clear about what I am going to perform because ultimately I have to satisfy my audience and I can do it only when I relate to their lives and life-experiences. The best reward I get every time is when many of the audience come to and say it was the best performance they have attended of any kind.
Let me refer to what we all see in airports. We see parents giving send off to their children whom they will see only after 2-3 years. What do parents tell them? “Read well, take care of your health, call us when you reach, write to us often, call their relatives in need of help, etc”. Now this looks very normal and simple right? But I would say this is the core of the experiences that I think I can relate to overseas Telugus when I perform. I will visualise how their life would be without seeing their parents and family for almost 2-3 years on an average. I think this situation is definitely not easy and it is associated with lot of emotion. And my poetry and performance is about human emotions and an attempt to invoke their feelings.
TLS: Visualizing the human emotions in different cultures invites lot of challenges. How do you know about local cultures when you go abroad?
GS: The real challenges are visualization of experiences and translating them to appropriate lyrics. Engaging the audience can happen when we make them a part of our performance, and we can do that only when we relate to their lives. I try to release their stress by making them completely involve during the performance. I am not merely singing some poetry; I am actually singing my philosophy that focuses on my belief and my values.
Whenever I visit overseas, I take time and go to various book stores, buy native poetry and try to understand it. This greatly helps me in understand t he “local” and guides me to design my performance in a more meaningful way to relate with what the “local” culture is about.
TLS: Every performance is so unique. Is there any one that you count as the best?
GS: My best performance is the one I am performing tomorrow, the next one which is yet to come. It is a learning every day for a performer like me. Literature and music teach us every day.
TLS: Where do you take inspiration from?
GS: I take inspiration from Kesiraju Srinivas (...laughs, it’s me...). He had always a dream, a dream to be a global performer. He always had the determination and confidence to achieve the dream. Beginning 1986, he became Ghazal Srinivas, who has given 6000 performances in 24 years.
TLS: Do performers have a social responsibility?
GS: My performances focus on a better tomorrow. Each of us has to question ourselves on what kind of tomorrow each of us are giving to our future generation. This might look very ideal, but I think every citizen has a responsibility and thus requires immediate action. I often give performances in jails, orphanages and old age homes. I make it mandatory to visit these every year.
I have adopted an orphanage called NICE in Mynampadu, Guntur district and we support 125 children. I have founded the Ghazal Charitable Trust, Ghazal Srinivas Foundation, and in publication of books, organizing seminars, mushaiaars on ghazals. We also have begun the work on www.telugughazal.com to promote the art of Telugu ghazal. I am very thankful to the LANCO group and its founder Sri. L. Rajagopal, Member of Parliament from Vizayawada , with which I collaborate for my performances on Peace, and with many other NGOs and UNICEF on various social issues. I have given voice to various videos that focus on social issues like child labour, women’s empowerment, AIDS Awareness, Girl Child Education, Nutrition to Pregnant Women, etc., and issues pertaining to national integrity.
TLS: Peace has been an integral part of your activities. Why peace?
GS: Unrest in any society creates havoc in many forms. It leads to actions that are not rooted in reasoning and self-questioning. I believe such actions spiral into various social problems that societies like us have to deal with. More importantly, we all live in constant fear where love and harmony are at stake.
People talk at length on peace, but I find very few people actually work to translate their thoughts into action. The problem is we dream every day to achieve it, but I have dreamt only once that I should focus my thoughts and performances on peace, and I am working on a daily basis on how I can contribute to world peace. We are now trying to bring out albums on the Indo Pak Peace Yatra. The Peace Walk from Delhi to Multan in Pakistan with a distance of 1538 KM in 58 days was an enriching one for me personally.
We have brought out a series of albums on peace beginning with the Shanti Yatra in 2005, which is dedicated to the Indo-Pak Peace Process and was released by our former President of India, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam. Consequently, we released Shanti Yatra – Part II during 2006 in Lahore during my hunger strike against Global Violence. The release was done by the Pakistani younger generation at large during an event.
Satyagraha Sandes Yatra was released both in Hindi and Gujarati, by the UPA Chairperson, Smt. Sonia Gandhi and Mr. Devghad Baray, Member of Parliament, in Gujarat, in 2007 commemorating the centenary celebrations of Mahatma Gandhi’s Satyagraha movement. Following that, the musical tribute to Mahatma Gandhi in 2008, performed in 100 global languages was a Guinness Record. I am trying to extend this to 125 languages through my audio album on “The Path of Mahatma Gandhi”.
Acharya Nagarjuna University conferred honorary doctorate on Dr. Ghazal Srinivas for his contributions to promoting the art of singing Telugu Ghazal and world peace. Born to Ratnavali and Narasimha Rao, Ghazal Srinivas is married to Surekha and they have a daughter, Samskruti. Samskruti accompanies her famous father on tours and is a budding Telugu Ghazal performer.
For a detailed note on Dr. Ghazal Srinivas
www.ghazalsrinivas.com
* T.L.S.Bhaskar is the founder of TeluguDiaspora.com. He is currently involved in documenting the first ever reader on Telugu Diaspora. You may want to contact him at +91-9848515151.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Piligrimage of Humanity
“Real happiness is serving others.” This saying always inspires me a lot.
In my childhood I enjoyed it in practice without knowing its meaning. During my childhood days, my father, Sri Narasimha Rao and mother Smt Ratnavali always took me to serve in eye camps conducted by Satya Sai Seva Samithi. My father used to say “it is a great thing to serve humanity by helping the needy in their hardships than going to school and studying”. He always encouraged me in service activities of the needy and singing Bhajans in rural villages.
I used to serve all seven days in Surgical Eye camps taking care of the male patients in the camp where I cleaned them with dettol water, washed their bed pans etc. and in the evenings I sang Bhajans for them. On the final day of the camp, the patients used to come up to me and thank me for all my help during their stay at the camp. I was incredibly happy to see them leave with regained sight. I have served thousands of patients and although I do not remember their names and faces I do remember their love….
To me, their sight is important.
Their bright future is important…and
I enjoyed the spirit of “real happiness is serving others”.
During my recent trip to USA from 23rd Oct to 2nd November I experienced similar feelings of “real happiness is serving others”.
I performed my Telugu ghazal show for
A fund raiser concert for the “Indo-American Eye care Organization of USA” in Denver, on 24th of September2009, to support the Pushpagiri Eye Hospitals in Andhra Pradesh. Proceeds will be spent for under privileged children’s eye care in AP. Many Telugu people gathered in Denver for this great cause. I sincerely appreciate Mr sudhakar Reddy, Mrs Vanitha Reddy, Mr Sridhar Talanki and all other Telugu people in Denver. The function was graced and inspired by the messages of Sri Nadendla Manohar, Deputy Speaker of AP Assembly and Dr Gurava Reddy, Chairman, Sunshine Hospitals.
I had an opportunity to inspire the audience for the fundraiser. I shared my childhood experiences about the surgical eye camps in rural villages and the pathetic state of poorest of the poor in AP regarding cataract problems. I performed for almost one and half hours. The fundraiser was successful with humanitarian contributions of $117000.
Now I can see the future sight of many unfortunate children of our country….
Thanks to all the donors those who contributed.
Is there any better worship than serving humanity??????
With utmost satisfaction I proceeded to Dallas for another fundraiser for the flood victims of Andhra Pradesh.
The fundraiser was organized by Nats Dallas team.
Initially I was hesitant to go to the show, because it was organized by the young team members of Nats at a very short notice.
Surprisingly I found auditorium packed with 700 audiences. We gave a befitting presentation on the scenario of Floods in AP. I narrated about my contribution and participation in the flood relief mission in AP.
I sang the Ghazal that was written by Sirasri to support the flood victims.
“Anuraagam Nuvvaithey ammavai kadaliraa
Attmeeyatha nuvvaithey annavai kadalliraa”
I requested audience to become an embodiment of their choice to serve the needy as “clothes, food, shelter, solace, care and share”.
Dallas community did not disappoint me and they contributed nearly $20000 for this war footing service mission. Salutations to Dallas people….
Will there be in any better cause than this? Helping and serving the needy!!!
Then I proceeded to New Jersey for Nats Kick off meet for NJ Nats conference 2011.It was very well organized and there was an overwhelming response from NJ , NY Philadelphia telugus.
During the fundraiser I explained the goals of Nats for the culture and welfare of telugus in North America and their other humanitarian services.
I sang heart throbbing ghazals. Every sentence of my ghazal and its essence was greatly received by the audience. Almost $300000 was raised for the upcoming community service programs of Nats.
I returned to India on 4th of November 09 with soulful satisfaction.
Ten days of my visit to USA was really worth its while.
It has given me great satisfaction and hope for my future concerts for the cause of peace
Will there be any better pilgrimage than
Touring for humanity and helping needy???!!!!
In my childhood I enjoyed it in practice without knowing its meaning. During my childhood days, my father, Sri Narasimha Rao and mother Smt Ratnavali always took me to serve in eye camps conducted by Satya Sai Seva Samithi. My father used to say “it is a great thing to serve humanity by helping the needy in their hardships than going to school and studying”. He always encouraged me in service activities of the needy and singing Bhajans in rural villages.
I used to serve all seven days in Surgical Eye camps taking care of the male patients in the camp where I cleaned them with dettol water, washed their bed pans etc. and in the evenings I sang Bhajans for them. On the final day of the camp, the patients used to come up to me and thank me for all my help during their stay at the camp. I was incredibly happy to see them leave with regained sight. I have served thousands of patients and although I do not remember their names and faces I do remember their love….
To me, their sight is important.
Their bright future is important…and
I enjoyed the spirit of “real happiness is serving others”.
During my recent trip to USA from 23rd Oct to 2nd November I experienced similar feelings of “real happiness is serving others”.
I performed my Telugu ghazal show for
A fund raiser concert for the “Indo-American Eye care Organization of USA” in Denver, on 24th of September2009, to support the Pushpagiri Eye Hospitals in Andhra Pradesh. Proceeds will be spent for under privileged children’s eye care in AP. Many Telugu people gathered in Denver for this great cause. I sincerely appreciate Mr sudhakar Reddy, Mrs Vanitha Reddy, Mr Sridhar Talanki and all other Telugu people in Denver. The function was graced and inspired by the messages of Sri Nadendla Manohar, Deputy Speaker of AP Assembly and Dr Gurava Reddy, Chairman, Sunshine Hospitals.
I had an opportunity to inspire the audience for the fundraiser. I shared my childhood experiences about the surgical eye camps in rural villages and the pathetic state of poorest of the poor in AP regarding cataract problems. I performed for almost one and half hours. The fundraiser was successful with humanitarian contributions of $117000.
Now I can see the future sight of many unfortunate children of our country….
Thanks to all the donors those who contributed.
Is there any better worship than serving humanity??????
With utmost satisfaction I proceeded to Dallas for another fundraiser for the flood victims of Andhra Pradesh.
The fundraiser was organized by Nats Dallas team.
Initially I was hesitant to go to the show, because it was organized by the young team members of Nats at a very short notice.
Surprisingly I found auditorium packed with 700 audiences. We gave a befitting presentation on the scenario of Floods in AP. I narrated about my contribution and participation in the flood relief mission in AP.
I sang the Ghazal that was written by Sirasri to support the flood victims.
“Anuraagam Nuvvaithey ammavai kadaliraa
Attmeeyatha nuvvaithey annavai kadalliraa”
I requested audience to become an embodiment of their choice to serve the needy as “clothes, food, shelter, solace, care and share”.
Dallas community did not disappoint me and they contributed nearly $20000 for this war footing service mission. Salutations to Dallas people….
Will there be in any better cause than this? Helping and serving the needy!!!
Then I proceeded to New Jersey for Nats Kick off meet for NJ Nats conference 2011.It was very well organized and there was an overwhelming response from NJ , NY Philadelphia telugus.
During the fundraiser I explained the goals of Nats for the culture and welfare of telugus in North America and their other humanitarian services.
I sang heart throbbing ghazals. Every sentence of my ghazal and its essence was greatly received by the audience. Almost $300000 was raised for the upcoming community service programs of Nats.
I returned to India on 4th of November 09 with soulful satisfaction.
Ten days of my visit to USA was really worth its while.
It has given me great satisfaction and hope for my future concerts for the cause of peace
Will there be any better pilgrimage than
Touring for humanity and helping needy???!!!!
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