From: kgh@ulysses.att.com (Krishna G. Hegde[jgr])
Newsgroups: rec.music.indian.classical
Subject: Interest in Shree Manilal Nag's concert tour
Date: 28 Aug 92 21:39:33 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: AT&T Bell Labs, Murray Hill, NJ, USA


        Dear Folks:

        We are trying to get a feel for interest in the classical music
        circle here regarding Shri Manilal Nag.  This would give us some 
        idea and motivation to sponsor a concert tour of Manilal Nag.  We 
        just want to get some responses as to whether organizations and 
        individuals are interested in arranging a concert in the local area.
          
        Please respond indicating your interest in having a concert of 
        Manilal Nag if he comes on a concert tour of US and Canada.  Below
        is a version of Shri Nag's bio-data.  Comments are also welcome.
        

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                                Manilal Nag

        Manilal Nag- born in the Bankura District of West Bengal- is recogni-  
        zed in serious music circles as one of the most talented and serious
        exponents of classical sitar.  He comes from a family of musicians 
        who have evolved the Vishnupur Gharana, a style of music that origin-
        ated nearly 300 years ago.  His grandfather, Govinda Nag, and the 
        great-great-grandfather, Bauridas Nag, were both distinguished sita-
        rists in their times.
        
        At the age of four, Manilal was initiated in the art of sitar playing
        by his father, the famous sitar master Sangeetacharya Gokul Nag.  After
        10 years of strict musical studies and the practice, Manilal made his 
        stage debt in the "All India Music Conference," accompanied by Pandit
        Shanta Prasad on tabla.  Since then he has become one of the most 
        popular and sought-after concert sitarists, performing regularly in 
        music conferences held throughout India.  Manilal's style retains the
        depth, resonance and sensitivity of the Dhrupad Ang in alap, followed
        by the extensive range of tans, gamaka, and tihais in the jor, and 
        the use of subtle and lilting phrasing in the jhala.  Through this 
        combination, he brings to perfection the delicacy and sentiment of 
        every Raga.  He is a master of improvisation and possesses the rare 
        ability to breathe life and originality into a classical theme, thereby
        molding it into a living and captivating form.

        Manilal has also had the unique opportunity of mainataining close 
        proximity to such great musicians as Mohiuddin Dagar, Majid Khan,
        Amir Khan, Kanthe Maharaj, Ahmedjan Thirakwa, and many others with 
        an open mind and heart.

        Since 1953 he has performed many times on the "National Program of 
        Music" broadcast by All India Radio, where he is categorized as a 
        "top grade" artist, and has appeared on several "External Services"
        television specials.  In 1973, he was sponsored by the Ministry of
        Education to visit the United Kingdom and the Continent in a cultural
        program arranged by "Sanskriti" of London.  He has also performed in
        the U.S.A., Canada, Australia, Japan, Fiji, Nepal and Bangladesh.
Xref: sparky rec.music.indian.classical:1541 rec.music.indian.misc:2325