Ashwini Bhide Deshpande, one of India’s foremost Hindustani vocalists is singing in Auckland on Sunday, 15 March.
The rare morning concert that will feature morning raags and melodies is unusual for Auckland audiences, especially from a celebrated visiting classical artiste.
Ashwini had a successful concert in Melbourne on 8 March, and some of her diehard fans from Sydney and Melbourne are following her across the Tasman to listen to hear at the rare morning concert in Auckland.
Speaking from Melbourne on the day that the Government of India announced the suspension of tourist visas including OCI holders for visiting India beginning 13 March, Ashwini said she was all set to travel to Auckland. The restrictions do not apply to returning Indian citizens.
“There’s no way I’d disappoint Auckland’s lovely music-loving community. I will be there and hope to meet you all,” she said. Ashwini was last here in September 2017 and her performance was extremely memorable for her ardent fans.
Accompanying Ashwini will be noted sarangi musician Sangeet Mishra from India, who is already in New Zealand. “I am excited to accompany Ashwiniji once again in Auckland after a very successful concert in Melbourne,” he said from Wellington. “Please do come to our morning concert, it’s going to be very special.”
Australia's Bobby Singh will play the tabla while a young Auckland artiste will provide tanpura accompaniment.
Ashwini sings in the traditional Jaipur-Atrauli gharana’s style and is today one of its leading lights. Raised in a musical family and taught initially by her mother, she went on to study under the tutelage of other great masters while yet pursuing her academic studies.
She holds a PhD in biochemistry from the prestigious Bhabha Atomic Research Centre in Mumbai.
She has won a string of national and state awards in India ever since she began performing on the concert stage at the tender age of 16 and sung at venues across the world. She has also been part of several innovative music-teaching projects in Scandinavian countries and other institutions in different parts of the world.
The multi-talented artiste is also an acclaimed writer, one of her works being a Marathi translation of the biography of the woman scientist who won two Nobel prizes in different subjects – Marie Curie, who discovered the elements polonium and radium.
She was to also sing in Singapore before Melbourne a couple of weeks ago, but the concert had to be called off because of government restrictions on the assembly of people in Singapore following the Covid-19 scare.
Ashwini’s morning concert with Sangeet Mishra and Bobby Singh is at Green Bay High School Performing Arts Centre, Godley Road, Green Bay at 9-15 am on Sunday, March 15, 2020.