Parashuram Bhandari Shringara Nepal

Their artistry, as well as their warmth and engaging spirit, rang out loud and clear throughout their presentations and performances. We hope to see them again soon on our campus and to learn and grow further through their music.

-- Blaise Ferrandino, Chair, Music Theory and Composition, Texas Christian University

It was a pleasure and privilege to host Shringara Nepal for both an extremely user-friendly lecture/demonstration and exhilarating concert at TCU. The musicianship of both Parashuram and Acyut was superb, and left the large, enthusiastic audience calling for more. We definitely hope to bring them back again.

-- Andrew Fort, Professor of Religion and Asian Studies, Texas Christian University, Fort Worth

The concert was just superb, magical even. I’ve been playing the cd in my car – which prolongs the pleasure and the memory. I do hope that we’ll be able to have you back to Oglethorpe in the years ahead.

-- Stephen B. Herschler, Ph.D., Provost, Oglethorpe University

Thank you for the gift of music you brought to the campus today. I am still totally in the grip of the powerful sarangi ragas of Parashuram and the wonderful tabla rhythms of Achyut. In the background, unmistakeably, is Babette's tamboura.

-- Douglas R. Reynolds, Department of History, Georgia State University, Atlanta

Babette, I wanted to thank you and Shringara Nepal once again for your magnificent performance today. It was absolutely superlative, world class, and I have heard many glowing comments about how much everyone enjoyed your performance. I hope that you will convey our thanks to Parashuram and Achyut. I am copying the UHH University Arts Center on this in the hopes that they will be able to find a spot for you on next year's theatre performing artists schedule for your ensemble. I would give you my highest recommendation.

We are so honored to have artists of your caliber living here in Hilo. I hope that this will be the beginning of a long and productive relationship between Shringara Nepal and the UHH Performing Arts Department. Much aloha to you all.

-- Richard A. Lee, Assoc. Professor of Music, Performing Arts Depatment, University of Hawaii, Hilo

What an amazing time meeting you all and watching/hearing you perform! It was an experience I will never forget. I was honored to help bring you here to my university.... your musical talents and abilities I can testify are truly some of the best in this world! As a musician, I am truly inspired. THANK YOU!

-- Stephanie George Jackson, Masters in Ethnomusicology, Bowling Green State University

Parashuram's introduction of his compositions and his rapport with the enthusiastic audience enhanced the overall quality of the program. The star was Parashuram himself, who used a variety of instruments to cover a wide range of challenging musical material The highlight of the evening was a rendition of .traditional folk songs, played with joyful abandon .One had the distinct impression that the audience was reluctant to leave, even after Parashuram's generous encore.

-- L. Solomon, NY and Hawaii

RECENT CONCERT PHOTOS

Kennesaw State University, Atlanta

PARASHURAM BHANDARI - BIO

At age nineteen, Parashuram was captivated by the exquisite sound of the sarangi. Determined to become a North Indian Classical musician, he traveled from his home in the Kathmandu Valley of Nepal to Varanasi, India, to study with his guru, the late Pandit Baccha Lal Misra. Returning to Nepal, he continued his training under Senior Musician Gopal Nath Yogi. He received his Master's Degree in Music from Prayag Sangit Samiti.

The Sarangi whose name means "hundred-colored." is an instrument unknown to most westerners. Bowed on three melody strings, with thirty-six sympathetic strings underneath, the Sarangi has a cello-like timbre and a bright reverberating echo.

Parashuram is the only sarangi musician in Nepal to play in the North Indian Classical (Hindustani) style. He plays Nepali folk music on the Nepali traditional sarangi. The Nepali sarangi is a small hand-carved version of the classical sarangi, an instrument equivalent to the traditional American fiddle.

ACHYUT RAM BHANDARI - BIO

Achyut Ram Bhandari has been performing on tabla for more than twenty years and touring internationally for sixteen. He has performed extensively in Europe, Asia, and most recently, in the United States. As a soloist, he is known for his ability to clearly speak the bols, or syllables, of complex compositions at very fast layas.

Achyut Ram Bhandari holds a permanent teaching position and is Chair of the Music Department at Nepal's Tribhuvan University. He has also been teaching privately for almost two decades. In addition to his Nepali students, he has given lessons to students visiting from the U.S., Japan, Italy, Israel, Spain, Canada, the U.K., Poland, Russia, Holland, Denmark, Portugal, and Germany, to name only a few. He has also hosted foreign students in his home for extended study.

BABETTE ACKIN - BIO

Babette Ackin is the Creator and Director of the Indian Classical Music Circle of Hawaii. She has been a devoted music student of Parashuram Bhandari since 2007.

Babette holds a BS in Anthropology (University of Houston, 1980) and graduate studies in Art History with an emphasis on medieval art (Rice University, 1990's).

NEW CD RELEASE

SHRINGARA NEPAL HAWAII

Parashuram Bhandari (Sarangi)

Achyut Ram Bhandari (Tabla)

Babette Ackin (Tamboura)

Raga Jog, Raga Misra Kafi, Raga Bhairavi, Raga Misra Shivaranjani

Recorded and mastered by Babaji Bob Kindler at Kindler Sound Studio

CD Released October 2009

SHRINGARA NEPAL RECORDINGS (Prior to 2009)

SHRINGARA NEPAL. The group's self-titled studio album, recorded in the U.S.; performances of Ragas Yaman, Bhairavi, Pilu and Kalawati, a tabla solo in Basanta Tal, and "Peace Melody," an original piece composed by Shringara Nepal. (CD; Silver Circle, Boston, U.S.A., 2000)

SHRINGARA NEPAL LIVE IN KATHMANDU. Recordings from several different performances in Kathmandu. Ragas Kamaj, Kirvani, and Multani; tabla solo in tintal; two folk tunes. (CD; Gaurab Music Center, Kathmandu, Nepal, 2000)

NEPALI TRADITIONAL FOLK TUNES. Om Shringara Nepal playing traditional Nepali folk tunes. (CD and Cassette; Music Nepal, 1996)

SETTING SUN, Vols. I and II. Om Shringara Nepal playing a variety of ragas, one tabla solo, and a short Nepali folk tune. (CD and Cassette; Music Nepal, 1996)

SANGAM: Shringara Nepal's Traditional Folk Tunes of Nepal (CD, Gaurab

Music, 1999)

PRESS RELEASE

Shringara Nepal brings together two of Indian Music’s finest performers: Parashuram Bhandari on sarangi and Achyut Ram Bhandari on tabla with Babette Ackin on tamboura. For the first time in 8 years the Bhandari cousins are together for a brief tour in the United States. Don’t miss this rare opportunity to see and hear why Indian ragas are known to be passionate, colorful expressions of moods and emotions.

One of the raga emotions is shringara – for which the group is named – an erotic love of god. The Indian word for music itself, sangeet, expresses a culmination of all things and an ability to convey that culmination. For Shringara Nepal, as with all classical Indian musicians, it is not enough for the music to be beautiful, it must inspire a body-mind-spirit unity in the listener.

The former Kingdom of Nepal, a country of dramatic beauty and a rich and appealing culture, is home to Shringara Nepal. This talented group's music is equally rooted in Nepal's varied traditional music and the classical and semi-classical music of India. Shringara Nepal's music ranges from the wildly exuberant to the hauntingly delicate - presented with the rhythmic power that is the group's signature.

As independent artists, Parashuram and Achyut are revered and well-lauded. They have published a total of seven books on sarangi and tabla and have both received National musical awards in Nepal. Between them the two artists have performed in fifteen countries including India, Thailand, China, Singapore, Austria, Denmark, Switzerland, France and Germany.

Shringara Nepal's newest CD "Shringara Nepal in Hawaii" just released in October 2009. Parashuram has released two musical CDs, including the most recent Shree. Achyut has released nine collections including the most recent Hanuman Battisa, compositional devotional songs. All CD's available via www.parashurambhandari.com.

Both Parashuram and Achyut have undergone rigorous musical training and possess incredible skill and control with their instruments. Audiences experience Indian classical music’s range and articulation; the beauty of the physical sound is secondary to the highly charged consciousness of the performers.

See www.parashurambhandari.com, www.achyutrambhandari.com, and www.indianclassicalmusichawaii.com

CONTACT

Babette Ackin, Tour Organizer

[email protected] or 808-965-1053