'Siddha Veena' introduced at Indian classical music session

The 9th edition of ' Morning Ragas;, a series initiated by Legends of India and conducted at the Rohini District Jail on Saturday morning, saw the introduction of a new instrument, the 'Siddha Veena'.

More than 1,000 inmates, seated on plastic sheets due to the wet grass, filled the vast ground as around a dozen policemen stood guard surrounding them.

"Many possessed a fine sense of music as they enthusiastically applauded the complex compositions, some of them were even tapping their hands against the other to match the beat of the table specially when the Siddha Veena player from Varanasi, Siddhartha Banerjee rendered Raag Gurjari Todi & Bhairavi, suddenly broke into Bollywood numbers requested by the inmates," a statement from the organisers, Legends of India, said.

"This is an unique initiative in collaboration with the Delhi Prisons (Tihar) to accelerate and augment the rehabilitation process of the jail inmates. It is an opportunity to provide a platform for the upcoming and lesser known artistes," Legends of India Founder Chairman Dipayan Mazumdar said.

--IANS

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