World Music Day / International Music Day

International Music Day

If you are a music lover, then you might not want to miss this out…

June 21 has been designated as world music day, a day the world celebrates the magical gift of music. It’s origins lie in France when, in 1976, American musician Joel Cohen, proposed an all-night music celebration to mark the beginning of the summer solstice and since then, it has become a worldwide phenomenon having their own celebrations in their own way, regardless of the season.

Since its creation by the French Ministry of Culture and Communication in 1982, the “Fête de la Musique” became the largest international live music event in the world and now gathers 450 cities in more than 120 countries.

Celebrated every 21st of June, the World Music Day is a grand and popular affair, free and open to all musicians, whether amateur or professional. It brings ‘live’ music ‘alive’  in all its diversity and its myriad genres. It aims at bringing universal entertainment to the young and not so young, to penetrate every strata of society …

This year, Alliance Française de Bombay along with Natural Streets for Performing Arts (NSPA), Furtados School of Music and Blue Frog brings you three days of music. There are workshops, screenings, performances and concerts happening from 18th to 21st of June.

Keep calm and listen to music

| CONCERTS | Free entrance for all events before 8.30pm.

  • . Ram Trio, Anusha & Rachel | 18th, 7pm – 9pm @ Blue FROG

From New Age Sufi folk music to Jazz, this performance will bring ‘live’ music ‘alive’ !

More info 

  • . FSM Rock Band & Students | 19th, 7pm – 9pm @ Blue FROG – POSTPONED

The Teachers and Students come together to put up a rocking performance.

More info

  • . Kevin Sissoko, Nikhil Nair, Rebecca Philips and Rahul Iyer | 20th, 4pm – 5pm @ Alliance Française de Bombay

Singers and artists from National Street for Performing Arts have set up a beautiful indie pop set !

More info

| WORKSHOPS |

. “VOCALS” by Furtados School of Music, 20th, 1.30pm – 3.30pm @ Alliance Française Auditorium

More info

. “GUITAR for amateurs” by Furtados School of Music, 20th, 6pm – 9pm @ Furtados School of Music ( FSM), Bandra (W)

More info

Free Participation | Registration required: communication.mumbai@afindia.org

| KARAOKE CONTEST for students of the AFB | 18th, 3pm – 5.30pm @ Alliance Française Auditorium

Sing along with your favorite French song and win courses and books !

Free Participation | Registration required: communication.mumbai@afindia.org

More info

For more details check here

Around the world

If you wish to participate, Make Music Day invites musicians, rappers and instrumentalists of all kinds.

Express your Artistic Talent for International Music Day

How to Make Music on June 21

If your hometown is already a Make Music city, you’re in luck! Click on your city’s website to register.

If your city isn’t on board yet, create your own Make Music event where you live! Download the toolkit for tips and ideas, then click to register to be included in the national listings.

Or join one of over 200 special projects around the country where you can just bring your instrument – or yourself – and join in! Visit the “Mass Appeal” section for details (new events are added daily).

If you are interested in organizing a large-scale Make Music celebration in your city, please email aaron@makemusicday.org.

You may check out their schedule here

Lose Yourself in the Sound International Music Day

Justin in Mumbai

Justin Bieber in Mumbai

Believe it or not, Justin Bieber is finally here, ready to rock Mumbai with his maiden India concert.

After his performance in Dubai on May 6, he tweeted-

Dubai is incredible… India you are next. @Amit_Bhatia99 u ready? #PurposeTourStadiums

— Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) May 8, 2017

This is Justin Bieber’s first concert in India. He is on a tour for his album Purpose.

If you are Bieber fan then this is what you need to know-

  • 22-year-old Canadian singer, songwriter will perform his hits like Baby, Where are Are You Now, Boyfriend and What do you mean?
  • He will be performing at D.Y. Patil Stadium in Mumbai
  • Bieber has 150 people, including backup dancers and choreographers at his performance.
  • Bieber loves Indian food so the organizers have planned out some special menu for him.
  • Security arrangements have been made as always for such a mass concert.

So, see you at the concert today!

If you are not able to make it to this concert then no worries, check out his world tour here

#PurposeTourStadiums pic.twitter.com/JUfGkFyLh2

— Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) February 15, 2017

Charismatic Festivals of Rajasthan

Festivals of Rajasthan

Festivals in Rajasthan are the most exciting and delightful time of the year. With a rigorous routine in our day-to-day life, we lack time to spend with our family and friends but come festivals, it forms a happy reunion. Certainly, India is one such country, which has loads of festivals, fairs celebrated in every corner. But, some places have significant beauty and portraits of culture, Rajasthan is one such state. It has a remarkable place in our minds for its royalty, monuments, colors, hospitality, and cuisines. But, one could never completely feel the essence of the beauty of this place until it has a taste of its festivals and fairs.

Festivals of Rajasthan

Here are some festivals of Rajasthan which are truly magical and worth watching.

  • Marwar Festivals

The most colorful and joyful festival of Rajasthan, which is dedicated to the medieval heroes of Rajasthan, is mostly celebrated all over the region but Jodhpur and Udaipur would be the perfect venue to witness the festival. Since Udaipur was the epicenter of the Mewar dynasty; one could experience distinct flavors of the festival here. The festival is also known as Maand festival, which is mocked by the prayers of Lord Shiva and Parvati. The whole region gets decorated with light and features dances, songs, cultural events, and fireworks.

  • Desert Festivals

Once every year, this beautiful festival is organized by the Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation in the month of January and February. It is really a bonanza that brings alive the sand dunes in Jaisalmer. The three-day event is lived by the representation of the traditional culture, songs, dances, and also the beautiful locals, dressed in bright colors and traditional finery. They sing ballads and showcase the tragedies of the desert. The major attractions are puppeteers, acrobats, camel tattoo shows, camel races, and also several competitions like the longest mustache, Mr. Desert, etc.

  • Jaipur Literature Festivals

This is the largest free literary festival on earth yes on earth, which is hosted by none other than the pink city ‘Of Jaipur’. All the Nobel laureates, Booker prize winners, debut novelists, and the keen reader comes on the same page to celebrate this unique fair. The five-day celebration holds various sessions of readings, discussions, and debates at the famous Diggi Palace. One could learn and explore various things in front of such great and eminent authors.

  • Kite Festivals

The event is celebrated on the auspicious day of Makar-Sankranti. The three-day festival of Jodhpur International Desert Kite Festival is the extravaganza of colorful kites of different shapes, and colors flying ubiquitously in the sky. The sight becomes more pleasurable in the evening under the light and sound of fireworks.

  • Camel Festivals

Throughout history and until today, the camel has been a crucial part of Rajasthan. In the honor of ‘ship of the desert’, which we usually call a camel, this festival is organized in Bikaner. The celebration falls in the month of January, organized by Rajasthan Tourism, pops up a great show. This two days long celebration includes various events like camel races, camel milking, fur-cutting design, best breed competition, and camel acrobatics. One of the major attractions is to see a decorated camel parade on the backdrop of Junagarh fort.

These awe-inspiring festivals are a must watch in Rajasthan. There are many Rajasthan tour packages, offered by various travel agencies. One should definitely visit these charismatic festivals of Rajasthan for this wonderful experience

Festivals of Rajasthan

PIN IT FOR LATER

Nowruz- An Ancient Persian- Iranian Celebration

Jamshedi Navroz

In Iran, every year, millions of Iranians celebrate Persian New Year or Nowruz. No one knows exactly how far back Nowruz dates but the best estimate is sometime in the range of 3000 years the important thing to know about Nowruz’s origins is that it is rooted in Zoroastrianism, an ancient Persian religion that predates both Christianity and Islam. So, Nowruz is not an Islamic holiday or a Christian one; it is Persian.

Nowruz greeting
Norouz
Image credit- http://barekat-blessing.blogspot.in/

Shah Jamshid’s Legacy

The festival of Nowruz heralds a time of hope and happiness in the year ahead. Initially, seasons played a significant role in human history and life. Everything depended on the four seasons. After the end of the chilly winter, spring was a great occasion to enjoy as it brought with it new life and new colors. This revelry was popularized by King Jamshid and, as per popular legend, he was the first to celebrate this festival.

Jamshid, the fifth king of the Peshadian dynasty of Persia, flourished 3209 years before the Christian era. The Shah Namah describes him as the first to civilize mankind. Persian writers consider the bas-reliefs at the ruins of Persepolis, still visible in all their pristine glory and beauty after a lapse of 5000 years to be the representations of the court of Jamshid, more especially depicting the festivities of Nowruz. It has also been suggested that the famous Persepolis complex, or the Palace of Apadana and the hundred columns hall, were built for the specific purpose of celebrating a feast related to Nowruz.

Although there is no mention of the term Nowruz in recorded Achaemenid inscriptions, there is a detailed account by Xenophon (Xenophon of Athens 430-345 BC was an ancient Greek philosopher, historian, soldier and mercenary, and a student of Socrates) of a Nowruz celebration taking place in Persepolis and the continuity of the festival in the Achaemenid tradition.

Shah Tahmasp and Humayun on Nowruz
A 16th-century painting of Tahmasp I and Humayun celebrating Nowruz. Image credit -http://www.wikiwand.com

The Nowruznama

In the book Nowruznama (Book of the New Year, which is attributed to Omar Khayyam- a well-known Persian Poet and Mathematician), a vivid description of the celebration in the courts of the kings of Iran is provided: “From the era of Kai Khosrow till the days of Yazdegard, last of the pre-Islamic kings of Iran, the royal custom was thus: on the first day of the New Year, Now Ruz, the king’s first visitor was the High Mobad of the Zoroastrians, who brought him as gifts a golden goblet full of wine, a ring, some gold coins, a fistful of green sprigs of wheat, a sword, and a bow. In the language of Iran, he would then glorify God and praise the monarch.

Jamshedi Navroz

This was the address of the High Mobad to the king: ‘O Majesty, on this feast of the equinox, the first day of the month of the year, seeing that thou hast freely chosen God and the faith of the ancient ones; may Sraosha, the angel- messenger; grant thee wisdom and insight and sagacity in thy affairs. Live long in praise, be happy and fortunate upon thy golden throne, drink immortality from the Cup of Jamshed; and keep in solemn trust the customs of our ancestors, their noble aspirations, fair gestures, and the exercise of justice and righteousness. May thy soul flourish; may thy youth be as the new-grown grain; may thy horse be puissant, victorious; thy sword bright and deadly against foes; thy hawk swift against its prey; thy every act straight as the arrow’s shaft. Go forth from thy rich throne, conquer new lands. Honor the craftsman and the sage in equal degree; disdain the acquisition of wealth. May thy house prosper and thy life be long!’’

You may like to read