april 2010 programmes

friday 2^nd april (Good Friday)
6.30 pm “Jesus Christ Superstar” a film with lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Introduced & presented by Punita Singh

Originally released as a concept album in 1970, the first London production ran for over eight years and the show has been filmed twice. This rock opera tells the story of the last seven days in the life of Jesus Christ. The story is based on St John's Gospel account of the last week of Jesus' life, beginning with the preparation for Jesus and his followers' arrival in Jerusalem and ending with the Crucifixion. It is the ultimate passion play, staged as a musical using the idiom of rock music.

 

This 2000 London production stars:

Jesus of Nazareth - Glenn Carter
Judas Iscariot - Jerome Pradon
Mary Magdalene - Renee Castle
Pontius Pilate - Fred Johanson
King Herod - Rik Mayall
Caiaphas - Fredrick B. Owens
Annas - Michael Shaeffer
Simon Zealotes - Tony VIncent
Peter - Cavin Cornwall

Running time: 1 hour 47 minutes

 

friday 16^th april

6.30 pm at The India International Centre
Raj Cooking and the spread of Indian Cuisine in Britain: an illustrated lecture by David Housego 

When the British pulled out of India in 1947, they left behind a culinary foot print. In clubs , army messes, hotels, in palaces and in many private homes, a lot of people had grown used to the Anglo-Indian cuisine that we now know as cooking under the Raj. The dishes carried names like Country Captain’s Chicken or Railway Mutton Curry – not obviously appetizing names in themselves but rich in nostalgia and memories for people living away from home. These dishes were not fusion cooking as we understand it today – the conscious blending of two traditions of food to create a new, innovative recipe. They were adaptations of English food - characterized most often by adding curry powder (a ready made mixture of spices) to whatever meat, fish or vegetable was to be served that day.  
        This cooking of the Raj lived on in India long after independence. But it has now almost disappeared from restaurant menus – both in India and the UK There are one or two in Delhi and other major cities that carry dishes from the Raj. Like wise in London, restaurants like Veeraswamys and Chutney Mary that used to be shrines of cooking under the raj have switched their focus to regional Indian dishes and an emphasis on fresh spices and ingredients.

        Is this neglect deserved? Did the Raj leave any memorable recipes that deserve a wider audience?  This lecture looks at this legacy. It makes the distinction between the cooking of the Raj and the different - but overlapping traditions of the Anglo Indian community. It sets the cooking of the Raj into the protocol that surrounded the table – and British India in general.

         But the most surprising culinary development that has emerged since Independence has been the emergence of Indian cuisine as a world leader. From initial unpromising beginnings in small restaurants in the UK established by newly arrived migrants from South Asia, India’s hugely varying regional cuisines have established themselves as trend setters at all levels of the gourmet ladder.The lecture takes up this amazing culinary phenomenon.

 David Housego began to cook when living in Paris and enthused by French food. As an amateur, he has pursued this in India where he likes to cook French, Italian, Indian and South East Asian dishes. As a former journalist, he was the Financial Times Bureau Chief in Paris and then South Asia Correspondent. He is a founder and currently Chairman of Shades of India, a textiles company.

This lecture will be followed by dinner organized by The India International Centre under the supervision of David Housego .  Reservations can be made by IIC members only 24619431

 Forthcoming Programmes

friday 30^th april
6.30 pm “A Touch of Afganistan – a classical vocal recital in the Indo-Afghan tradition by Ustad Eltaf Hussain Sarahang
                                            

Ustad Eltaf Hussain Sarahang is among the most outstanding exponents of the diminishing Patiala gharana today, and the only living link of the present with the ancient Indo-Afghan cultural heritage. He is a distinguished musical expositor of Sufi thought, particularly of the renowned Sufi poet, Abdul Qadir Bedil, for which he has won international recognition.  

Ustad Eltaf Hussain belongs to a lineage of great musicians. His grandfather, Ustad Ghulam Hussain Sarahang is credited with having taken the Patiala gharana to Afghanistan. But it was his father, Sartaj-e-Mausiqui, Ustad Mohammed Hussain Sarahang who took the genre to extraordinary heights. Born in Kabul in 1956, Ustad Eltaf Hussain received his initial training from his illustrious father and grandfather, and was later tutored by some of the most eminent masters of India and Pakistan such as Ustad Amanat Ali Khan, Ustad Fateh Ali Khan, Prof. Deodhar and Ustad Abdul Rehmat Khan. He has also received training in the sitar from Ustad Abdul Halim Jafar Khan. In India his musical training was sponsored by the ICCR. 

At the age of 21 Ustad Eltaf Hussain Sarahang was appointed royal musician in the court of King Zahir Shah of Afghanistan. He was also Director of the Urdu Service of Kabul Radio, and has taught music at the Kabul University. In the 1980s, after being conscripted in the Afghan army, he sustained serious injuries that put a halt to his career in music for several years. 

Political unrest in the 1980s and 90s forced millions of Afghans to seek shelter in foreign lands. Ustad Eltaf Hussain was among a handful of them that chose to keep the past alive. His voice, rising above a war-torn homeland, is a poignant reminder of a golden past and a hope for a better future.  

Although Ustad Eltaf Hussain Sarahang belongs to the Patiala gharana, he has over time developed his own distinct style. His music is pristine, extraordinary and without borders. As the foremost exponent of the rich cultural legacy shared by Afghanistan and India, he renders the Darbari Kanhra, Malkauns, Bhopali and other Indian ragas with an inborn ease and understanding. His thumri gayaki is reminiscent of the style of the maestro, Bade' Ghulam Ali Khan of the Patiala gharana. His rendition of Afghan folksongs evokes unmatched emotion and imagery.  

Ustad Sarahang is also a man of learning. His understanding of Persian literature and philosophy has endeared him to Persian speaking people all over the world.  

In India Ustad Eltaf Hussain has featured in some of the most prestigious musical forums. Besides various cities of the sub-continent, his sparkling music has enthralled audiences in San Diego, Tashkent, Bokhara, Samarkand and Moscow. His annual concerts in the US, Canada and Europe are eagerly awaited by connoisseurs of classical music. 

Ustad Sarahang is a recipient of the prestigious Sangeet Kala Ratna award by the Pracheen Kala Kendra, and the Bedil Award given by the Jamia Milia Islamia University, Delhi. He has also been honoured with membership of the exclusive International Film and Television Club 

Being articulate and affable, Ustad Eltaf Hussain Sarahang connects easily with his audiences. Undoubtedly his music stands out for its verve and artistry, and has been aptly described as “an echo of the invisible world” and “a wonderful blend of poise, power and beauty”. Presently based in the US, and en route to Kabul, he is on a short visit to India to meet his friends and admirers.