Indian Newslink Feb 15, 2016 Digital Edition

February 15, 2016
ARTLINK-with Ratna Venkat
27
Passion brings the best out
of vocalist
Venkat Raman
venkat@indiannewslink.co.nz
When Neha Sinha
appears for the
first time on a New
Zealand stage later
this month, she would demonstrate
the fact that passion and
humility are two attributes that
elevate talent and foster the
quality of music.
The youngster, whose parents
Abhay and Varsha Dhoke
(now residents of Melbourne,
Australia) are friends of
Indian Newslink, is scheduled
to participate in a forthcoming
musical show of Amit Kumar
and his group.
Amit Kumar Concert
Gopal Bhatia is organising
the programme called, ‘Bade
Acche Lagte Hain’ on behalf of
his ‘Sursargam Events’ at Logan
Campbell Centre on Saturday,
February 27, 2016.
Amit Kumar and Neha Sinha
will respectively be the lead
male and female singers at the
Concert with a number of local
talents including Mr Bhatia,
Makrand Patankar and Guncha
Singh. They will be supported
by an Orchestra from Mumbai
comprising Ajay Atre (Rhythms),
Chintan Modha (Keyboard), K
Mahendra (Saxophone) and
Vijay Murthy (Lead Guitar).
Local artistes will include
Araad (congra,Tumba and Side
Rhythm) Hemant Thaker (Key
Board), Manjeet Singh (Tabla)
Shivan Padayachi (Bass Guitar).
For tickets and other details,
please contact (09) 6246330 or
021-567429.
While the ensuring Concert
would be the first for Neha with
Amit Kumar in New Zealand,
she has appeared on stage with
many other well-known artistes.
They include Mukund
Phansalkar, Hrishikesh Ranade,
Madura Datar, Vibhavari Apate,
and Jasraj Joshi.
“I am excited to perform with
Amit Kumar Ji,” she said.
Turning Point
“As a professional artiste, I
always face the challenge of
being prepared to perform at
a short notice,” she said and
recounted a programme at
which she was invited to sing,
since the artiste booked earlier
was unable to perform.
She had less than two days to
prepare to render 20 old Hindi
film songs of Lata Mangeshkar
as solo and duet. Her passion
for the art and the ability to rise
to the occasion enabled her to
present a splendid performance,
following which she began to
receive opportunities to sing at
many other programmes.
Neha considers that moment
as the turning point in her
career.
“I became a regular artiste
in all their future programmes
Even today I feel happy that
I accepted the challenge and
achieved success with the Grace
of God and the patronage of
organisers and the listening
public,” she said.
Participating in competitions
and winning top prizes before
she became a professional
artiste was almost a habit for
Neha.
Among them was ‘Kya Masti
Kya Dhoom,’ a show on ‘Star
Plus’ hosted by actress actor
Sonali Bendre.
Seasoned artiste
Neha is today a seasoned
artiste and faces multicultural
and multi-ethnic audiences with
confidence and poise. So would
it be at the Amit Kumar Show in
Auckland this month.
She attributes her success to
her mother, saying, “Her tireless
efforts to bring out the talent
in me have brought me to this
level. I am always thankful to
my Guru Dr Purnima Duhamale
for training me patiently over
the years and encouraging my
talent in light music despite
being a great Hindustani
Classical singer.
As well as in public performances
and sound tracks,
Neha’s work as a producer of
jingles is also known to radio
producers. She has created
more than 50 jingles for Radio
Mirchi based in Pune.
“Since childhood I am passionate
about singing songs and
always dreamed of becoming
a playback singer.My Idols are
Lata Mangeshkar and Shreya
Ghoshal who keep motivating
me with their songs and performances,”
Neha said
Neha Sinha
Uttarakhandis showcase their culture
Show organisers in Auckland keep us so busy with their cultural and entertainment programmes (sometimes four or five on the same day) that we
sometimes almost miss important events. One such is the cultural programme of the Uttarakhand Association of New Zealand held at the Mahatma
Gandhi Centre in Auckland on December 25, 2015.
Anil Thapliyal, a Member of the Executive Committee of the Association, sent us the following report:
Anil Thapliyal
About 400 persons of
Uttrakhand origin from
different parts of New
Zealand attended and
danced to music at a cultural
festival held on Christmas Day
in Auckland.
Singers Virendra Singh, Sahib
Singh Ramola and Heema Negi
Karasi presented folk songs
and dances with the support
of Vinod Kumar (Keyboard),
Gaurav Maithani (Tabla) and
Ranjeet Singh (Dholak).
The concert began with
‘Nanda Zagar’ and ended with
heritage song ‘Bedu Pako Bara
Masa,’ a favourite of the late
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the
first Prime Minister of Independent
India.
Earlier, the idol of Nanda
Devi, brought from Hamilton,
was carried on shoulders to the
stage with beating of Dhol-Damon
a traditional musical
instrument of Uttrakhand.
Youngsters inspire
Speaking on the occasion,
Association Chairman Ram
Lakhera said that the participation
of the younger generation
Talent comes alive on stage
was encouraging and hoped that they
would continue to evince interest in their
tradition and culture.
In a message read out at the event,
Uttrakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat
greeted the members of the community
in New Zealand and congratulated the
Association for organising the cultural
festival.
Established on March 30, 2013, the
Uttarakhand Association of New Zealand
aims to “bring all people of Uttrakhand
on one platform, promote, popularise and
pass on the rich cultural heritage of the
State among the people of New Zealand.”
Women added value with traditional dance
Enthusiastic citizens of Uttarakhand at the Mahatma Gandhi Centre threshold