Portal to India

press release:

From “The Jewel in the Crown” to “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” and “Slumdog Millionaire,” the legendary Taj Mahal, Gandhi and the eternal Ganges, India has long captured the imagination of westerners. Still, the panorama that is India and the India that stirs the soul are, for most people, far, far away. Indian music is seldom heard, mystical to the ear and baffling in its rhythms. Indian dance is a form unto itself, rarely seen in the heartland of America.

Knowing that, the Rural Musicians Forum, with support from the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Center for South Asia, has announced “Portal to India,” an up-close-and-personal encounter with classical Indian music and dance for Monday evening June 22 at Spring Green’s historic Unity Chapel.

The concert features three remarkable performers with international reputations. 

Meenakshi Ganesan is presently the director of the Kalaanjali Indian Dance Company which promotes the ancient South Indian classical dance form of Bharantanatyam. She started her training at the tender age of 6 and her teacher’s training at 13. She has over 2,000 performances to her credit and was conferred the prestigious title of Nritya Mayuri (Dancing Peacock) by the Indian Ministry of Education.

Nitya Pariti, the fourth generation of a noted musical family, also started learning the art of Carnatic vocal music and classical Veena (plucked string instrument) at a very young age.  She has performed extensively in music festivals across the US and has appeared in performance with her guru in multiple venues including several solo-featured concerts here and in India. Nitya is also an advanced performer in the Indian classical dance form of Bharatanatyam and will be performing her solo maiden recital as a dancer yet this year. She is currently a freshman pursuing a major in Chemical Engineering at the University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign. 

The third performer in “Portal to India” is Vanitha Suresh, a multi-faceted vocal artist who has contributed significantly in the American art arena, particularly in the Midwest. She is a musician, mentor, promoter, and the founder of the Arohana School of Music in Madison, an affiliate of the International Foundation of Carnatic Music. She has been recognized as a Master Artist and recipient of the Wisconsin Arts Board’s Folk Arts Award in 2013 and 2014.

Mss. Pariti and Suresh will be accompanied by the remarkable Arun Ramachandran on on mridangam, a South Indian double-headed drum. Sanjay Suresh, a talented 5th grader and violinist, will also accompany his mother. Clarinetist, Amit Rajesh, completes the ensemble.

There is no ticket charge, but a freewill offering to support the concert series will be taken.

Unity Chapel is located at 6596 County Road T, just east of Hwy 23.  The chapel is a living testament to the simple and contemplative lives early settlers created for themselves in southwest Wisconsin. Indoor seating plus spacious lawns for chairs blankets, picnics.  For directions and more information on this concert and the series visit www.ruralmusiciansforum.org.