Venue: Himalayan Village Sonapani, Uttaranchal (know more... ) 
Date: 15-17 September, 2006
Artists: Shanti Sharma; Prahlad Singh Tipaniya & Ashok Tipaniya; Swananand Kirkire and Gopal Tewari

THE STAGE

The monsoons would have left their verdant mark over the Kumaon region and the Himalayas. The clouds clear for the eyes to feast on the majestic views of the Himalayan Range in all its glory. Himalayan Village and Soulitudes have once again come together for the Annual festival called The Sonapani Arts Festival. Last season we had wonderful musicians from the Raghu Dixit Project and noted Sitar exponent Gaurav Mazumdar revel in the mountains. 

This September, we bring together, Hindustani art music, folk music and theatre in song. We have with us from the esteemed Kirana Gharana – vocalist Shanti Sharma; wonderful expressions of Kabir Mystic poetry by Prahlad Singh Tipaniya; and award winning lyricist Swananand Kirkire with NSD honed Gopal Tiwari celebrating music in drama.

Interspersed with the three artistes will be walks, conversations and the Kumaoni hospitality of Ashish, Deepa and their three year old daughter Vanya. The setting will be intimate and personal and hopefully transformational. We have tried to bring together a conclave of musicians and artists to interact with each other. Our effort is to sensitively blend boundaries by looking for that connection that separate different genres. We invite you to be a part of this event.

THE ARTISTS

Shanti Sharma 
Music Vocalist in the lineage of Kirana Gharana

Acknowledged today as one of the finest vocalists in the country, Shanti Sharma, a classical singer from the Kirana and Indore traditions, is endowed with a rich voice, aesthetic sensitivity and has received intensive talim from master vocalists like Shri Sangameshwar, Pt. Amarnath and Ustad Mashkoor Ali Khan. Serenity, an integrated structured exposition of the raga, fluency and swift tanas are the hallmarks of her singing. Over the years, she has performed in most music festivals in India. She was recently awarded the Indira Gandhi Priyadarshini Award on the occasion of Indira Gandhi’s birthday celebrations. Shanti Sharma is at present a Faculty member of Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra.

Source: BITS Sandpaper Magazine

Reviews and articles:
www.hindu.com/fr/2006/01/20/stories/2006012002120300.htm
www.hinduonnet.com/fr/2003/ 02/28/stories/2003022801090400.htm
www.tribuneindia.com/1999/99may23/sunday/view.htm

Prahlad Singh Tipaniya & Ashok Tipaniya
Mystic Poets of Kabir

One of the most senior, most respected and very popular artists of the Malwa belt, Tipaniyaji has travelled widely nationally and internationally to perform. He not only sings the words of mystic poets especially Kabir, he is also the head or Mathadheesh of the Kabir Panth (a sect of the followers of Kabir) branch of the area and Kabir's thought is a way of life for him.

Unlike many other performing groups of the area who have inherited the tradition of singing the saints' sayings from their ancestors, Tipaniyaji is a self taught man. By profession he is a teacher in a local school and he heard the sound of the tambur, the five stringed instrument that he now sings with, for the first time in 1978 as a 24 year old. He was so impressed with it that he made up his mind to learn the art of playing it and singing and so set out on his journey. Soon thereafter he started doing programs for All India Radio and has never looked back since. He has been honoured with countless awards over the years and has many audio and VCD albums to his credit. He performs with his brother Ashok Tipaniya and a team of remarkable musicians.

Source: Beat of India

Links
http://www.hindu.com/mag/2004/04/11/stories/2004041100380500.htm
http://www.beatofindia.com/arists/pst.htm (Choose this link to listen to sample music of Tipaniya brothers)

Swananand Kirkire
Lyricist, dialogue writer, singer from National School of Drama

Swananand’s song in the award winning movie Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi, Bawra Mann had us spellbound. That song has sunk deep into us and one day when our close friend Gopal mentioned that he was close to our house, we called him over for an unplugged version of Bawra Mann. Today, Swananand has hit the marquee and has emerged as the lyricist for award winning movies like Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s Parineeta. Swananand’s creative capacities were honed at National School of Drama in addition to being from a family that has learnt music from the legendary Pt Kumar Gandharva. Swananand, along with Gopal, have conceived a play with song and drama from an Indian text. I am sure in the evenings we will get him to sing Bawra Mann among others over the bonfire.

Gopal Tiwari
Actor from National School of Drama

Gopal Tiwari’s passion for avant-garde and meaningful theatre has led him to act in productions that are now seen to be path breaking and fortunately award winning. He was key part of the cast of the play “Peele Scooterwala Aadmi” that won the best Hindi Play at 2006 Mahindra Theatre Awards. Gopal has also acted in Bollywood productions and television serials which allow him to fulfill his dream to act in meaningful theatre. Gopal’s sense of music and rhythm has allowed us to spend many a evening in effortless ease. His version of Bhupen Hazarika’s song written by Gulzar of a Boatman’s yearning for her beloved is simply heart wrenching and superb. The bonfires will be the stage for those special occasions.
 

Package cost 
The two nights/three days package is priced at Rs. 8000 and the three nights/four days package is priced at Rs. 11,000. All prices are per person on a twin sharing basis and are subject to a cancellation policy and terms and conditions. In case you would like to drive down to Sonapani yourself, please email us for pricing options.

Terms & Conditions
~ All prices are per person on a twin sharing basis.
~ 100% payment is required to confirm bookings.

The pricing includes:
~ All meals and accommodation in cottages at the Sonapani 
~ Transfers and pickups from the nearest railhead (Kathgodam) - Performances
~ Taxes 

The pricing does not include:
~ Train tickets 
~ Alcohol, tips, laundry, fax/email/phone charges 
~ Travel insurance 
~ Items of a personal nature such as toiletries 
~ Additional meals at Himalayan Village

Please feel free to revert to us if you need any further clarifications.
Shobhana Jain (+91) 9820889808, shobhana@soulitudes.net
Ram Badrinathan (+91) 9892692809, ram@soulitudes.net

If you are in Delhi, please contact:
Ashish Arora (+91) 9810633350, ashish@himalayanvillage.com
Navin Pangti (+91) 9810881491, navin@himalayanvillage.com

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