The Darbar Festival is an

Indian classical music Indian classical music is the classical music of the Indian subcontinent. It has two major traditions: the North Indian classical music known as '' Hindustani'' and the South Indian expression known as '' Carnatic''. These traditions were not ...

and

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

festival that takes place annually over three months in London. It uniquely curates music from the north Indian

Hindustani Hindustani may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Hindustan (another name of India) * Hindustani language, an Indo-Aryan language, whose two official norms are Hindi and Urdu * Fiji Hindi, a variety of Eastern Hindi spoken in Fiji, and ...

and south Indian Carnatic classical traditions as well as dhrupad and percussion. The Darbar Festival is the flagship event of the Darbar Arts Culture Heritage Trust, a UK registered non-profit. The organization exists to promote greater access to Indian classical music and dance and to ensure this art form can be accessed by a global audience. It does this through its YouTube channel and social media platforms. Another element of Darbar's work is to support a new generation of aspiring artists through summer workshops for new artists, an Indian music appreciation course and Indian music classes for primary school children in Leicester.

The festival

The festival features great masters and emerging musicians artists like

Ustad Amjad Ali Khan Ustad Amjad Ali Khan (born 9 October 1945) is an Indian classical ''sarod'' player, best known for his clear and fast ekhara taans. Khan was born into a classical musical family and has performed internationally since the 1960s. He was awarde ...

Shahid Parvez Ustad Shahid Parvez Khan (commonly known as Shahid Parvez, born 14 October 1954) is an Indian classical sitar maestro from the Imdadkhani gharana. He represents the seventh generation of the Etawah Gharana as its primary exponent. He is prai ...

, Pandits Rajan & Sajan Mishra,

Shubha Mudgal Shubha Mudgal (born 1 January 1959) is an Indian singer of Hindustani classical music. Her repertoire includes the genres of khyal, thumri, dadra, and Indian pop. She has received the Padma Shri in 2000. Early life Shubha was born in Allahabad ...

, Aruna Sairam, Sanjay Subrahmanyan, Niladri Kumar,

Rakesh Chaurasia Rakesh Chaurasia (born 10 January 1971) is an Indian flautist, who plays the bansuri, an Indian bamboo flute. He is the nephew of flautist Hariprasad Chaurasia. He was awarded 'Indian of the Year 2017. Discography *''Call of Krishna'' – 20 ...

Kaushiki Chakraborty Kaushiki Chakraborty (born 24 October 1980) is an Indian classical vocalist and a composer She attended Sangeet Research Academy, and was one of the exponents of Patiala gharana. Her repertoire covers pure classical, ''Khyals, Dadras, Thumr ...

Ronu Majumdar Ronu Majumdar is an Indian flautist in the Hindustani classical music tradition. Awards, nominations, and music collaborations In 1981, Ronu Majumdar won the first prize at the All India Radio competition, and the President's Gold Medal. He ...

, Pandit Jasraj,

Pandit Venkatesh Kumar Pandit M. Venkatesh Kumar (born July 1, 1953) is an Indian Hindustani vocalist. He is best known for his rendition of devotional songs composed by Swami Haridas. Kumar belongs to the Kirana and Gwalior Gharana. Early life and musical traini ...

Pandit Ulhas Kashalkar Pandit Ulhas Kashalkar (born 14 January 1955) is a Hindustani classical vocalist. He has received training in the Gwalior, Jaipur and Agra gharanas, and is considered one of the finest representative of all three schools. Early life Ulhas was ...

, Kala Ramnath, Prabha Atre, Sudha Ragunathan and

Roopa Panesar Roopa (Hindi: रूपा) is a female given name in many languages of India, which means "blessed with beauty". Roopa may refer to: Notable people named Roopa *D. Roopa, Indian police officer *Roopa (actress) (born 1960), South Indian actress. ...

History

The Darbar Festival started in 2005 as a one-off tribute to the energy, dedication and enthusiasm of Bhai Gurmeet Singh Ji Virdee (1937–2005); a well loved tabla teacher from Leicester. The festival continues today and aims to reflect the values that Bhai Gurmeet Singh Virdee put into his passions - his Sikh faith, photography, music and tabla. Previous Darbar Festivals: *2006 Peepul Centre, Leicester *2007 Phoenix, Leicester *2008 Phoenix, Leicester *2009 Southbank Centre, London *2010 Kings Place, London *2011 Kings Place, London *2012 Southbank centre, London *2013 Southbank centre, London *2014 Southbank centre, London *2015 Southbank centre, London *2016 Southbank centre, London *2017 Southbank Centre, Barbican Centre & Sadlers Well's *2018 Southbank Centre, Barbican Centre & Sadlers Well's

References

{{Portal, India, Music Music festivals in London Indian classical music