The Indian Weekender, 30 September 2022

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4 NEW ZEALAND IWK BUREAU A biography with selected writings of writer, musicologist and lifelong promoter of Indian performing arts, Mohan Nadkarni, was launched in Auckland Friday last week (23 Sep). The day marked the centenary of the noted writer who was born on 22 September a hundred years ago. He passed away in Auckland in 2014. Launching the book in the midst of an invited audience at the Auckland Indian Association’s Mahatma Gandhi Centre, Honorary Consul of India in Auckland Bhav Dhillon said that it was heartening to note that Mohan Nadkarni’s legacy of promoting traditional and classical Indian performing arts, artistes and striving to give performance platforms and opportunities to young artistes was being pursued in New Zealand. A 25-minute film of tributes to Mohan Nadkarni by artistes from all over the world was also screened on the evening along with fine performances of music by Auckland’s talented artistes Kishori Telang, Manjit Singh, Samir Bhalodkar, Lester Silver and Anand Thakore. The evening ended with a dinner. Curious to know more about the life and work of the celebrated musicologist, Friday, 30 September, 2022 Book launch, film mark writer’s centenary several attendees bought copies of the book, authored by his son Dev Nadkarni, Founding Editor of the Indian Weekender. Mohan Nadkarni spent the last eight years of his life in New Zealand and upon his passing in 2014 his family formed the Mohan Nadkarni Foundation to continue his life’s work in the service of promoting India’s traditional and classical performing arts. In 2021, the foundation and the century-old Auckland Indian Association Inc, (AIAI) came together to form CIPA, the Centre for Indian Performing Arts, a website for which was also launched by well-known Auckland based arts promoter Harshad Patel. Welcoming the audience, AIAI President Dhansukh Lal said that since the earliest days of AIAI, it had been the association’s aim to promote arts and culture of India and with the Mohan Nadkarni Foundation coming on board, a renewed vigour had been brought to those efforts. Just a day after CIPA was launched on August 15 2021, when the Government of India also announced a grant for CIPA, New Zealand was plunged into a lockdown. Yet, three quality concerts had already been hosted by CIPA this year alone, Lal said. Dev Nadkarni outlined his father’s work in the field and said that his ideas in finding creative ways to promote and fund quality performing arts was something CIPA would emulate in New Zealand and asked community leaders present at the event to come together and work to promote expressive arts and artistes from their respective communities through CIPA. The Mohan Nadkarni Centenary Concert series is being held in different countries to mark his centenary year. In July, a concert was held in Melbourne. Last week’s Auckland concert was the second. More concerts are scheduled in India and Read online www.iwk.co.nz Europe this year and next year. Mohan Nadkarni, was one of India’s most well-known musicologists and perhaps the most published author on the subject. He was the music critic of The Times of India for over 50 years, having reviewed thousands of concerts between 1948 and 2002. He authored over 4000 articles and authored some 10 books. He also consulted with recording companies. He won several awards including the Karnataka State Government’s Kalashree award for lifetime’s contribution to music. He lectured and held workshops on Hindustani music in several cities in India as well as in Switzerland, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom among other countries. He addressed the World Music Forum in Rotterdam in the Netherlands in 1995. Before migrating, to New Zealand to join family, Mohan Nadkarni donated his entire musical library comprising thousands of articles and rare photographs, rare LP and 78RPM records and thousands of cassettes to the music department of the SNDT University in Pune, where a musical library has been set up in his name. For copies of the book, please email info@cipa.org.nz Namaste Wellington to celebrate Indianness VENU MENON IN WELLINGTON Namaste Wellington is a confluence of ethnic Indian initiatives in the areas of culture, business, arts entertainment and cuisine that brings the community of the greater Wellington region together in an annual celebration of Indianness. Now in its third year, the Namaste Wellington 2022 festival will be held on October 8. The event coincides with Diwali, which this year will be celebrated as the festival of lights unaccompanied by the traditional fireworks. Namaste Wellington aims to set the trend for the future by holding a truly green festival. As part of this effort, the Namaste Wellington light show, a novel experience on offer, will run all day in 20-minute intervals. The one-day event will feature an array of stalls set up on the premises of the Wellington Indian Cultural Centre at Kilbirnie. Stalls include a colour workshop for children by Resene as well as the one set up by Manisha Morar- Event organiser, Namaste Wellington the Rangiwahia Environmental Arts Centre for designing and creating eco-friendly Diwali paper lanterns. There are also stalls put up by the Wellington Indian dance and language schools. An additional highlight on the occasion will be the book-signing by Dunedin-based author Jacqui Leckie of her book, Invisible. The book tells the story of the early Indian pioneers who came to NZ and the difficulties they faced through discrimination and racism. Cricket enthusiasts can watch the Black Caps take on India. “All the local businesses that we have in Wellington will have their own stalls,” said Manisha Morar, event organiser. “They get to promote themselves, they get to sell goods if they want to. Some of them will have food stalls. At the same time, in the conference room area, there is a performance stage. We have about 40 performances on that day,” Morar added. The dance performances will range from traditional folk dances to classical to Bollywood. The festival has free entry. Nevertheless, a Lakshmi’s Urli will be placed in the foyer of the building to collect donations, which will go to the Wellington Free Ambulance. “That’s our contribution to the larger society,” Morar said. Namaste Wellington is an offshoot of its precursor the Indian Bazaar, which ran for over 40 years and where people bargained for lower prices as in an open market. That model gave way to the present format of the festival. “It’s about reinventing oneself to suit the present day and age,” Morar noted.
Read online www.iwk.co.nz Friday, 30 September, 2022 NEW ZEALAND 5 Musician introducing young aspirants to the tabla MAHESH KUMAR Joshua Devanbu is a well-known musician in Christchurch and performs regularly at multi-cultural and Indian events. He is also one of the few helping preserve India’s musical heritage and legacy by training young and upcoming musicians. Indian music is one of the most popular genres of music all over the world. With increased migration, it is only natural that our kids lose touch with their musical roots when they go to new places and encounter different cultures. Christchurch-based Devanbu is helping our next generation stay connected to our country’s musical heritage by teaching Tabla, a well-known percussion instrument from India. Born in Bangalore, India, to a musical family, Devanbu grew up surrounded by music. His father Dr Devanbu was a drummer and later took up tabla. He switched to playing light classical music and performed regularly around Karnataka, India and toured the USA extensively. Joshua’s mother shared his husband’s passion for music, frequently accompanying him on the keyboard. From a very young age, Devanbu started playing in Church along with his brother who is also an accomplished drummer. During their teens, they played the drums and did covers of Bon Jovi, and Pink Floyd. At the same time, Devanbu was also learning tabla from his father and sometimes accompanied him when he was performing. Although music was a significant part of his life growing up, it was never the choice when it came to making a career. Josh was interested in sketching and painting, prompting him to get his bachelor’s degree in fine arts studying painting, sculpture, sketching, art history, and design. The pursuit of earning a steady income led him to take up graphic design, a career that allowed him to express his creativity while making money at the same time. He worked for a printing and designing company on various jobs, including print, packaging design and predominantly publishing. Devanbu recalls, “While I was doing good, I always wanted to excel and gain a global design sense and go beyond churning the commercial designs that were being done around me. The quest for self-development grew and I decided to pursue an international degree.” After comparing and applying to various colleges worldwide, one cold morning, Devanbu landed in Christchurch to pursue a graphic design qualification. In the beginning, being on his own seemed daunting, but soon he enjoyed his freedom and independence and began helping other international students who were also feeling alone. Because of his academic progress and active help to fellow international students, his college offered him a full scholarship to continue his studies as well as a job as the International Student Coordinator. Throughout this time, Josh was very focused on his studies but kept practicing tabla in his spare time keeping his passion for it alive. After he finished the course, finding a job proved to be a big challenge. Eventually, having landed a job and gotten his visa sorted, Devanbu began playing the tabla at cultural events. He immediately got noticed and started playing regularly. While conducting a workshop, an unusual request from a visually impaired child who wanted to learn to play the tabla. His parents told Devanbu that the young boy is musically inclined and plays various other instruments. “As Indian music and instruments are rediscovered worldwide, parents should introduce their children to Indian instruments if they are musically inclined, especially if they are of Indian descent. Our musical heritage and legacy would be preserved in this way.” “I was initially taken aback, not sure how I would do that but then I thought that even I close my eyes when playing Tabla. It is more about feeling the rhythm, and if the kid has music in him, it shouldn’t be that difficult.” That’s how Devanbu’s journey as a tabla trainer started. Within six months, they performed together on stage at the inauguration of the SwamiNarayan Temple in Papanui, Christchurch. Devanbu remembers, “Kushal Solanki was an incredibly talented artist and quick learner. He is now in Australia and doing very well for himself.” Since then, Devanbu has enjoyed teaching and loves passing his skills to future musicians. Having taught many young aspirants, he enjoys the thrill of playing alongside his students in various events. Devanbu now pursues his passion for teaching on the weekends in addition to his fulltime job at Vodafone. “I love teaching. Not all of my students continue playing the tabla for various reasons, but I don’t think they will ever forget how to play the instrument and can always come back to it and refresh their skill with a little practice. I teach the basic technique, help them develop a sense of rhythm and become independent of me so they can continue their musical journey on their own,” he says. “As Indian music and instruments are rediscovered worldwide, parents should introduce their children to Indian instruments if they are musically inclined, especially if they are of Indian descent. Our musical heritage and legacy would be preserved in this way.” • Continued from Page 3 The other was a book he read while in school. Called The Physiology of Taste by Jean Anthelme Brillat- Savarin, the book talked about the sensations of crunch (texture), sour and sweet, which released mood elevators in the body. Vishen zeroed in on the humble potato to provide the crunch. Potatoes reached the stage of Maillard (the process by which sugar turned to caramel) very quickly. Potatoes caramelised quicker than meats, he said. But Vishen, a product of the Le Cordon Bleu culinary school in Wellington, wanted to stay true to the identity of the cuisine he was promoting, which was Indian street food. So he researched the Indian burger and quickly identified his burger of choice: Dabeli, which originated in Kutch in the Indian state of Gujarat. Traditionally, Dabeli was primarily made from jaggery, mashed potatoes and spices that were macerated into a thick paste and smeared over a buttered bun heated on a large grill. Pomegranates and chickpea noodles were then added to the mix. Vishen created a contemporary, urbanised version of the traditional Indian Dabeli burger. Indian street food went back to the out-of-work Mughal-era chefs who took to the streets during the British Raj, according to Vishen. Much of the shapes, colours and smells from the royal kitchens spilled into the streets of Delhi and became the convenience food of the common man. The flavours, symmetry and aesthetic appeal of the food served on the Mughal emperor’s plate became part of the common palate. Through the period of the competition held in August, around 3,112 burgers created by Vishen were sold, consumed, contested and voted upon by the public. The number of burgers sold averaged 150 a day. Did Vishen ever consider narrowing the focus of his business to just doing the popular veggie burger? Vishen recoiled at the question. “No, never. I would never do that. “One of the reasons why I became a chef was that I hated a mundane lifestyle. I wanted freshness, change and instant gratification. That is what food gave me. If I had to do the same thing again and again, I would rather have started a MacDonald-type business.” Currently, the vegetable burger is the fastest moving item on Chaat Street’s menu. But true to Vishen’s philosophy of life, the winning burger will be pulled from his menu by the end of the month. But why? Vishen cited internationally renowned Korean master chef David Chang, who said when a dish became too popular, it’s time to take it off the menu.
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The Indian Weekender, 30 September 2022

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