AUTHOR CONVERSATION
Asia Society and the Indo-American Arts Council present
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Namita Devidayal |
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Namita Devidayal (The Music Room)
and dancer-singer Rajika Puri |
Monday, April 20, 2009 • 7:00 P.M.
Asia Society
725 Park Avenue at 70th Street, New York City
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Join us for the New York book launch of Namita Devidayal, author of The Music Room, a
bestseller in India and winner of the 2008 Crossword Popular Book Award. She will be
joined by Rajika Puri, internationally acclaimed exponent of classical Indian dance.
When Devidayal was ten years old, her mother took her to a seamy neighborhood in Bombay
to study music with classical singer Dhondutai, the last living disciple of two of the
finest Indian classical singers of the twentieth century. Dhondutai was the keeper of the
rarest and most unusual compositions of the Jaipur Gharana, a well-known school of Indian
classical music. The Music Room is a meditation on how Indian classical music, artistic
traditions and life lessons are passed along generations and how performers devote
their lives to their art. Devidayal will give a short performance followed by a reading and
interview with Puri in which they will talk about her memoir and Indian classical music in
a fast-changing world. Followed by a book signing.
Namita Devidayal was born in 1968, and has studied with Dhondutai from the age of 10. She left India to attend Princeton University and then returned to become a journalist with The Times of India, she lives in Mumbai.
Dancer-singer Rajika Puri, trained in Bharata Natyam and Odissi, is best known for her
creative melding of different kinds of music and theatrical techniques with Indian dance.
She conceives of and co-writes the music for her own works, such as TAPASYA: Ascetic
Power and Tales of the Ganges (Joyce SoHo, May 2009 upcoming). Rajika also writes
and lectures on dance, music and theater both Western and Indian. |
The Indo-American Arts Council (IAAC) is a 501©3 not-for-profit arts organization passionately dedicated to promoting, showcasing and building an awareness of Indian artists in the performing arts, visual arts, and literary arts. All donations to the IAAC are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowable by law.
Information: Indo-American Arts Council Inc, 517East 87th St, Suite 1B, New York, NY 10128.
Email: Web: |
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Registration
$10 Members/Students
with ID/Seniors;
$12 Nonmembers
Free for Asia Circle
members.
At the Asia Society
725 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10021
For tickets, call the
Asia Society box office
at (212) 517-ASIA
or visit https://
tickets.asiasociety.org
No cancellations,
exchanges or refunds.
For information, visit
our website at
www.asiasociety.org |
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