ওয়াশিংটন বাংলা রেডিও Washington Bangla Radio USA

Washington, D.C., May 8, 2012 (Washington Bangla Radio) Recognized by The New York Times for his "exquisitely sensitive playing" and “stunning agility,” Grammy-nominated (2010) mandolinist Avi Avital is one of the world’s most exciting and entrepreneurial young musicians. He is deeply committed to building a fresh legacy for the mandolin through virtuosic performance and exciting new repertoire. Haaretz Daily has described Avital’s playing as “everything you never dreamt a mandolin could do…truly breathtaking in virtuosity and dedication.”

Avi Avital is internationally-regarded for his performances at venues including Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center in New York, Berlin Philharmonic Hall, in Lucerne, at the Forbidden City Concert Hall in Beijing, and at Wigmore Hall in London. He has appeared as soloist with the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra, I Pomeriggi Musicali di Milano, San Francisco Chamber Orchestra and the Berlin Symphony under the batons of Mstislav Rostropovich, Sir Simon Rattle and Philippe Entremont, among others.

Indian actress Bipasha Basu (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Mumbai, May 5, 2012 (Washington Bangla Radio / Free-Press-Release.com) Actor Anil Kapoor believes the IIFA Film Awards is like Oscars meeting Cannes.

Each year, the Indian film industry looks forward to the Videocon IIFA Weekend and Awards, the most definitive awards show that honors the best talent from Indian cinema. The much-awaited news about IIFA’s destination for this year has recently been broken and it is none other than Lion City – Singapore. Actors Anil Kapoor and Bipasha Basu graced the announcement press conference in the dynamic metropolitan.

Having travelled with his wife who was there for treatment for her back, Anil Kapoor expressed his affinity toward the great city on a breakfast show called LIVE AM the next day where he spoke about how the city had always held a special charm for him where his daughter also lived as a student.

By Bharati Mitra

Washington, DC, April 14, 2012 (Washington Bangla Radio) On April 13, 2012 at the George Washington University’s Lisner Auditorium, Anoushka Shankar and her Traveler Ensemble performed their "Raga-Flamenco Journey" concert. Anoushka played her sitar soulfully, along with Sanjeev Shankar in Shehnai, Pirashanna Thevarajah in various Southern Indian percussion instruments, Bernhard Schimpelsberger in Flamenco percussion box, Melon Jimenez in Flamenco guitar & Sandra Carrasco in cante (vocals). The concert was presented by Washington Performing Arts Soceity (WPAS),and Co-presented with the George Washington University Lisner Auditorium.

The music which ensued was innovative, experimental and awe-inspiring to say the least.  It was at once a combination of musical instruments from various parts of India as well as the Flamenco counterparts of Spain. The Sitar, originally a Persian but now more popularly a North Indian string instrument, was combined with Mridangam, an ancient percussion instrument which originated in Southern India, as well as three other Southern Indian percussion instruments: the Ghatam, a clay vessel to be struck with the palm of the hand, Kanjira, a hand drum of the tambourine family, and Morsing, a Southern Indian mouth harp. To this was added the Shehnai, a North Indian wind instrument typically used for auspicious occasions such as weddings. These alone could have provided for an unusual and highly creative concert. But the creativity and innovation of Anoushka Shankar goes far beyond in which she thought of combining this large variety of Indian classical musical instruments with the gypsy & folksy tunes of Spanish Flamenco music.

Washington, DC, May 6, 2012 (Washington Bangla Radio) Informally put together in 2008 by like-minded folks in the Greater Washington Metro area, the Tagore Music Group of Greater Washington DC is a cultural organization which strives to promote the music, drama, writings and philosophy of Nobel-laureate poet Rabindranath Tagore.

It consists of approximately twenty families with Bharati Mitra as the team lead. Each year the group stages at least one drama, dance drama or musical making sure the presentation is “live”…reminiscent of Santiniketan.

Read all about the troupe and their latest production Chhobi - A Musical along with date, time, venue and ticket details of the performance.

Washington DC, May 5, 2012 (Washington Bangla Radio) DCSAFF  2012 is shaping up to be the most incredible three days the Washington DC cine-going audience has ever seen. With a bevy of renowned actors and  directors from around the world, DCSAFF promises to have something for audiences of all ages and ethnicities. DCSAFF 2012 promises to be an exciting weekend full of cinematic entertainment and workshops, and will  feature prominent guests from the Indian film industry, including Shyam Benegal  (Director of Well Done Abba!, Zubeidaa, Kalyug), Ketan Mehta  (Director of Mangal Pandey, Mirch Masala, Maya), Deepti Naval  (Memories in March, Firaaq, Shakti), Rajit Kapur  (Guzaarish, Well Done Abba!, Zubeidaa) and Raima Sen  (Memories in March, The Japanese Wife, Teen Patti).