ChaiTimeRadio

In this Chaitime, we talk to Nima Gujar, President of Ekal Vidyalay, Bay Area Chapter. Ekal is a non-profit organization on a mission to bring basic education to every child across rural India. Ekal Vidyalaya’s mission targets the holistic development of rural and remote tribal villages in India by providing functional education that includes basic literacy, health and hygiene, economic development, social empowerment, and value education. The nonprofit has a goal of 100,000 schools by 2022 – the 75th anniversary of India’s independence. You can donate or/and volunteer for Ekal. Please join annual fundraiser for the Bay Area chapter of the nonprofit Ekal Vidyalaya. It is a melodious evening of music by the Vishwanath Batunge Group at ICC Milpitas on Sunday, April 7 from 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm. It is the annual fundraiser for the Bay Area chapter of the nonprofit Ekal Vidyalaya. You can find all the information on their webpage ekal.org

Currently, Nima is the president of Ekal Vidyalaya, Bay Area Chapter. Nima Gujar is a principal at HGA, specializing in designing corporate workplaces throughout the San Francisco Bay area. Her expertise includes interior design details, construction documents, construction administration, client relations, project management, and team coordination. Apart from that she dedicates her time in social causes and is actively involved in Bay Area Maharashtra Mandal, Rajasthan Association of North America and is a founder of WWW (Wonderful Women of the World) which has been running successfully for last 16 years. It gives platform to women to come together and share their expertise and experience.

In this Chaitime, we talk with Padmabhushan Sursamragyi Begum Parveen Sultana.

Parveen Sultana does not need any introductions. She debuted on stage at the age of twelve. In 1965 she recorded her first EP for EMI India, and in 1967 her first LP for the same label. She was conferred the Padmashri in 1976, at the age of 25 and was awarded Padma Bhushan (2014) by the Government of India, and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, 1998, given by Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama. Parveen Sultana has sung for Bollywood movies such as Gadar, Kudrat, Do Boond Pani, and Pakeezah, and several other Assamese films. She was awarded Filmfare Best Female Playback Award for the song "Hame Tumse Pyar Kitna" for the film Kudrat.

In this Chaitime, we talk to vocalist Konark Sarangi (http://www.konarksarangi.com/).

A devoted student of Indian Classical Music and Vocal artist who works on Social Issue based Musical projects. His musical videos Hausla Na Ruthe and Ghar Jaana Hai have met with critical acclaim.

His first video “Ghar Jaana Hai” showcases the issue of Drought & Migration. The video has been well accepted in film festivals across the world with 23 official selections (Including Miami Beach Film Festival, Richmond International Film festival, Los Angeles Film Awards) and has won 6 Awards in various categories.

His latest video "Hausla Na Ruthe" has the Orissa Super Cyclone as its backdrop. The cyclone struck the state of Odisha in 1999 causing large scale devastation killing around 50000 people. "Hausla Na Ruthe" depicts one such story of 'Charu Maa,' a super courageous woman from the village of Gundalba, Odisha who refused to give up and led a group of women to fight against nature's fury and restored an entire forest cover that got destroyed in the 1999 Orissa Super Cyclone.

Konark started his musical learning under the able guidance of Shri Mahesh Kale in the San Francisco Bay Area. His quest for learning the highly rich traditions of Indian Classical music took him to the legendary Dhrupad vocalist, Padmashree Pandit Ramakant Gundecha from whom he learns Dhrupad gayaki. Konark has performed in various solo concerts in the US and has also performed as an accompanying artist in many classical / semi-classical concerts.

We dedicate this episode of Chaitime to Ankit Chadha.

Ankit Chadha((21 December 1987 – 9 May 2018) was an Indian writer, storyteller, oral narrative performance artist, researcher, and educator but above all, he was a genuinely lovely human being and friend. Ankit specialized in research-based narratives performed in the centuries-old Dastangoi form of storytelling. He weaved biographical accounts of personalities like Kabir and Rahim to Dara Shikoh and Majaz into the conventional Dastangoi style of presentation. He performed Dastangoi globally, including at Harvard, Yale, and University of Toronto. Ankit left us and all his fans on 9th May 2018 few weeks after his last performance in the San Francisco Bay Area.

In this episode, we listen to my interview with the accomplished team of Khusro-ke-Rang which included Ankit Chadha, Bindu Narayanaswami, Vedant Bharadwaj and Ajay Tipaniya. This interview was recorded in July 2017, when I had an opportunity to travel with the group to attend a live performance of Khusro-Ke-Rang in Pondicherry.

In today's Chaitime we talk to anchor, art critic, music aficionado, journalist and author Sanjay Patel. Sanjay Patel is from Indore, India and he has had a unique honor of meeting almost every music personality of the industry. This year he completed his 40 years of public life. I had an opportunity to talk to him during my visit to Indore in 2017 and have him share his experience with music stalwarts: Mehdi Hasan, Prahlad Tipaniya, VG Jog. In this interview, he shares his broad experience as an anchor and journalist.

In today's Chaitime we talk to the famous Hindi/Urdu poet and lyricist, Javed Akhtar. It was an incredible honor and experience talking to Javed Akhtar Saheb and listen to him talk about his incredible journey, and life lessons.

In this Chaitime, we talk to vocalist, composer, and scholar of Hindustani classical, semi-classical, and devotional music Pandit Raja Kale (http://www.rajakale.com) and listen to his compositions, recorded in KZSU studio. Pandit Kale is accompanied by renowned bay-area artist Raju Chithambaram, founder of Andaaz creations.

Pandit Raja Kale is a senior disciple of Pandit Jitendra Abhisheki. He also received valuable guidance from Pandit C. P. Rele and Pandit Balasaheb Poonchwale from the Gwalior Gharana. Pandit Raja Kale is known for rendering both old and new Hindustani classical music with an approach that is at once eclectic and focused on the performance. With his appealing style and gifted voice with wide range and rare tonal qualities, Pt. Raja Kale achieves perfect articulation in the alaap, taan as well as the exposition of the Bandish. He is equally proficient in presenting Thumri, Tappa, Natyageet, Bhajan, and Bhavgeet. He holds a Ph.D. with the thesis on the Importance of Bandish in Khayal. He has also received a senior fellowship from the Department of Culture of the Government of India for the study of the subject: Comparative study and analysis of "Gayaki" of Legendary singers Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, Pandit Kumar Gandharva, Pandit Jitendra Abhisheki, and Pandit Jasraj. Pandit Kale is the founder of Swarabhishek Gurukul, a music academy with the goal of teaching the real essence of Hindustani classical and semi-classical music. He has performed live on several notable occasions, and on broadcast media, including TV and Radio in India.

Raju Chithambaram is a lead vocalist in Bay Area band Andaaz Creations. Raju is a student of Mahesh Kale & Pandit Laxmi Ganesh Tewari and has sung with Kavita Krishnamurthy, Sadhana Sargam, and other elite Bollywood artists. Andaaz Creations is the originator of the Bollywood Broadway Musical and has raised over $1M in fundraisers.

In this Chaitime, we talk to award-winning filmmaker Stanzin Dorjai Gya (https://www.stanzindorjaigya.com) about his life, his journey and his film - Shepherdess of the Glaciers. Shot at an altitude of 16,400 ft, Shepherdess of the Glaciers is an award-winning film by Stanzin Dorjai Gya and Christiane Mordelet. In this movie, Stanzin tells the story of her sister who is a shepherdess in the rock-strewn mountain in the Himalayan region of Ladakh. And through her story, Stanzin captures an intimate portrait of a disappearing way of life – one marked by challenges and isolation, but also beauty and spiritual grace.

Stanzin Dorjai has dedicated his career to sharing stories that open the viewers’ eyes and minds to the unique challenges of life in the High Himalayas. His work is as compelling as the landscape of Ladakh itself, and his message is as profound as the surrounding Himalayas. He is joined in the studio by Linda Cortright and Mary Dautricourt.

Stanzin is an internationally-acclaimed filmmaker who has directed and produced notable feature films and documentaries on regional, national and international issues. “Jungwa: The Broken Balance,” a documentary based on the 2010 flash floods that devastated Leh, was selected for screening at the United Nations’ COP21 Paris Conference in 2015. “The Shepherdess of the Glaciers,” an homage to his sister’s life, has won 20 awards, including the Grand Prize at the Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival in 2016. Stanzin is alumnus of SECMOL(https://secmol.org) and founder of the Himalayan Film House. HFH seeks to promote and capture stories unique to this region as people face increasing socio-economic conflict and environmental degradation.

Linda Cortright is founder and publisher of Wild Fibers Magazine (https://www.wildfibersmagazine.com), a U.S. quarterly and Pangong Craft Center in Phobrang village, Ladakh. Pangong Craft Center provides a warm, well-lit space for nearly 60 semi-nomadic women to spin and weave cashmere from the goats they lovingly raise.

Mary Dautricourt is the coordinator for Stanzin’s trip to the San Francisco Bay area and his appearances.

Devanand is considered one of the greates and most successful actors in the Indian film industry. In this Chaitime we celebrate his legacy with some of his popular songs.

In this Chaitime we listen to the famous bhajan "Chadariya Jheene Re Jheene" written by 15th-century Indian mystic poet, Sufi and saint, Kabir whose writings influenced basic Indian spirituality in the voice of some of the well known folk, classical and modern singers. We hear the same bhajan sung in their unique way by Prahlad Tipaniya, Kumar Gandharva, Mukhtiyar Ali, Pandit Jasraj, Indian Ocean and Kabir Cafe. This show captures the power of Kabir's bhajan and the versatility of Indian music.