The Bagri Foundation is delighted to announce it will launch a new online series of videos led by the renowned singer and composer Dr Radhika Chopra, commencing Wednesday 29 April 2020.
Recorded from her own home during lockdown, Ghazal ki kahaani, Meri Zubaani invites viewers to join Dr Chopra on an intimate journey of discovery through the art of the Ghazal. Led by her curiosity and passion, this form of Urdu poetry is often male-dominated and is widely associated with love and longing. So this is a rare opportunity to be graced with Dr Chopra’s astonishing voice. Each week, through song and poetic recitation, the Foundation will share a new episode unfolding the mystery and complexity of the Ghazal form.
The first of the series will be broadcast on Wednesday 29 April, with further episodes released each Wednesday thereafter. The videos can be viewed on the Foundation’s social media platforms and on its YouTube channel.
Says Alka Bagri, Trustee, Bagri Foundation: ‘We feel extremely privileged at the Foundation to have an opportunity to showcase Radhika Chopra’s extraordinary singing of the Ghazal. She has been so generous in allowing us into her home, an intimate space, during a difficult lockdown period in India and sharing with us, her musings. We are sure they will charm and entice all our Urdu and Hindi speaking audiences.’
Note: each of the episodes will be presented in Hindi and Urdu and unfortunately, due to the multi-layered meanings within the poetry, is not translated into English.
For press information please contact Albany Arts Communications:
Mark Inglefield
mark@albanyartscommunications.com
t: +44 (0) 20 78 79 88 95; m: +44 (0) 75 84 19 95 00
Carla von der Becke
carla@albanyartscommunications.com
t: +44 (0) 20 78 79 88 95; m: + 44 (0) 79 74 25 29 94
Notes to Editors:
About Dr Radhika Chopra
Born and brought up in Jammu, Radhika started learning music at a very young age from Pt. J.R.Sharma and started performing on stage and for All India Radio Jammu. After graduating from Govt College for women Jammu, she joined the Faculty of music and fine arts, Delhi University for her post-grad in Hindustani classical music, completing her PhD. She learnt Thumri, Dadra and Ghazal from the most eminent guru, Smt. Shanti Hiranand, renowned disciple of Begum Akhtar.
Dr Radhika Chopra is a much sought-after composer and singer not only across India and Pakistan, but as far away as the United Kingdom, the Near East and East Africa where loyal audiences have been charmed and enthralled by her melodious & soul stirring renditions and commanding stage presence. Dr Chopra’s excellence & finesse, her crisp & clear voice coupled with her impeccable diction of both the Hindi and Urdu languages have won her accolades across the globe.
About the Bagri Foundation
The Bagri Foundation is a UK registered charity, inspired by unique and unexpected ideas that weave the traditional and the contemporary of Asian culture. The Foundation is driven by curiosity, a desire to learn and supports a myriad of exciting artistic programmes that challenge, engage and inspire. Through a diverse programme of film, visual arts, music, dance, literature, courses and lectures, the Bagri Foundation gives artists and experts from across Asia, or those inspired by the continent, wider visibility on the global stage.
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