Dr. Ojesh touches hearts of young children at SaMaPa Aalap

Jammu,February 3  (Scoop News) –The 3^rd Day of ongoing SaMaPa Aalap Festival 2013 witnessed a beautiful presentation by vocalist Dr. Ojesh Pratap Singh. The concert on the third day of the 8^th Annual SaMaPa Aalap Festival was held at Ved Mandir Balika Niketan, Amphalla. The programme comes under the ‘Social Cultural Responsibility Programme’ initiative of SaMaPa. The function started with the traditional lamp lighting by Pt. Ravindra Misra, eminent music critic and musicologist, Pt. Vijay Shankar Mishra, eminent writer, music critic, musicologist and Vice President of SaMaPa, Santoor Maestro & Music Composer Abhay Rustum Sopori, Sufi singer Ragini Rainu, Pediatric Dentist Dr. Bhavna Kaul, and Ved Mandir Committee members like Sh. Amarchand Gupta, President, Capt. Parshotam Sharma, Vice President and Sh. K.K. Mengi, Secretary.

Dr. Ojesh Pratap Singh, while explaining the students the basics of music, melody and rhythm, commenced his recital with Raga Jaunpuri. He presented a traditional Bandish ‘Sumir Ho Naam Ko’ in Jhaptaal and ‘Pariye Paayan Wake Sajani’ in Teentaal. This was followed by a Bandish ‘Jhoola Daroo Ambawa Ke Dari’ set to Teentaal in Raga Vrindabani Sarang. He concluded his recital with a Meera Bhajan in Raga Bhairavi. His recital demonstrated a fine sense of aesthetics, embellishment and improvisation while maintaining the purity of a raga. Pt. Mithilesh Jha, a well known Tabla player from Delhi, provided beautiful accompaniment along with Shri Abid Hussain from Bhopal on Sarangi and Sh. Damodar Lal Ghose from Delhi on Harmonium. Dr. Ojesh made the students sing with him the compositions during the performance generating keen interest of young children in music.

Earlier, Capt. Sharma gave the welcome address presenting bouquets to the guests and performing musicians. He coordinated the proceeding of the programme and thanked Abhay Sopori for his work. He congratulated SaMaPa for reaching every sector of the State and creating a musically rich atmosphere in the Jammu region. He expressed his gratitude to SaMaPa for inviting artist of international to Ved Mandir and acquainting the young students with their rich cultural heritage. Abhay Rustum Sopori spoke to the children and said that the cultural heritage of the J&K State in particular and the country in general lies in the hands of the young generation and it’s very important that every child is provided and exposed to this rich classical heritage. While introducing the international acclaimed musicians who were performing on the occasion, he said that India has its own distinct culture which every Indian should be proud of and must at least know the basics of classical music and performing arts. He congratulated the management for providing all possible care that a child can get from the parents with love, understanding and discipline. Abhay asked the people to contribute to such organizations which work with such devotion and dedication in providing better citizens of the country. On this occasion Pandit Vijay Shankar Mishra presented the SaMaPa Calendar 2013 to Ved Mandir. He also spoke on the occasion and explained the students the subtle impact of music on a person and asked the students to take up music as their main activity and always listen to music which develops concentration also. He thanked

The SaMaPa Aalap Festival 2013 is being presented by SaMaPa in collaboration with Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, Jammu & Kashmir Police, and Department of Tourism, Jammu. The festival will feature Flute recital by Sh. Ajay Prasanna at K.C. Public School at 10:00 am and Vocal recital by Dr. Ojesh Pratap Singh at Home for Aged and Infirm, Amphalla at 5:00 pm on Monday, the 4^th of February.