See saw: Carnatic, Jazzed Up

Western jazz meets Indian classical music in German saxophonist Rainer Pusch's project titled Karuna Kshetra. Pusch studied Carnatic music at Kalakshetra College of Fine Arts in Chennai in 1999, and decided to collaborate with Indian artistes. After performing at concerts and festivals in Germany, Karuna Kshetra will be performed in India for the first time, at IIT Delhi on Saturday. Accompanying Pusch is Carnatic vocalist Manickam Yogeswaran. "I have used Carnatic music to play western tunes without breaking the rules of raga," says Pusch, who has performed with musicians such as A R Rahman and Louis Banks. Yogeswaran's CV boasts performing a soundtrack for Stanley Kubrick's film Eyes Wide Shut. The other members are guitarist Jigmee Dorjee Sherpa, bassist Abhishek Mangla and percussionist Reuben Narain.

Stage Salute

When he was alive, theatre person Ramesh Mehta would create plays that had Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and President Zakir Hussain watching from the first row. A three-day theatre festival will pay tribute to the comic art of Mehta, who passed away in May, by staging his popular plays Paisa Bolta Hai!, Uljhan and Under Secretary. Organised by Three Arts Club and Katyayani theatre club, the festival shows how the socio-economic issues of the past are relevant even to modern India. Paisa Bolta Hai deals with a materialistic

society while Uljhan revolves around a cheat who is defeated in his own game by the woman he falls in love with, and Under

Secretary highlights middle-class hypocrisy. The festival will be held at Shri Ram Centre from Sept 28.

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