Indian Santoor & Arabic Lute Concert...

This was for the first time that a fusion duet of Santoor and Moroccan Lute was presented at an International conference inaugurating the Indo-Arab Partnership Forum.

The idea was to present and introduce Indo – Moroccan music into the world music scenario with the efforts of 2 eminent artists of Morocco and India - Ustad Haj Youness (senior most and Legendary Lute maestro & composer) with the Abhay Rustum Sopori (Santoor maestro & composer) who demonstrated the subtleties of both Moroccan and Indian music. It's also for the first time that a young artist like Abhay collaborated with one of the senior most artists of Arab region.

They played various compositions based on Arabic Muquams composed by both the maestros highlighting music of the 2 countries. They demonstrated incredible speedy patterns running through octaves with brilliant sequences of musical expressions receiving immense applause and appreciation from the audience. They were accompanied on Tabla by Sarit Das, one of the leading Tabla players of the country. During the concert Vidya Shah performed Sufi music while Maida-Eh-Yahyauui along with her group performed traditional Arabic music that enthralled the audience.

H.E. the Ambassador of Morocco Mr. Larbi Moukhariq appreciating the fusion concert hailed the efforts of both the maestro presenting the depth of the 2 musical instruments while praising both the maestros and hailing Abhay Rustum Sopori as 'Ustad' just like his father Pandit Bhajan Sopori, the Santoor Legend & Composer.

Ustad Youness was also happy to visit India and play with Abhay Rustum Sopori and said that it was not that difficult to collaborate with Abhay as his music and Santoor is totally divine which not only sooths the ears but penetrates straight into the heart.

Pandit Bhajan Sopori was also in full praise of both the musicians and said that though both the musicians met for the first time but the fusion concert was of high technical virtuosity and this could only happen as both happen to be very good musicians and top composers.

A Tribute to the victims of Mumbai terror attack...

If music has the intensity of love, romance, inspiration etc. it also has the real pain, truthfulness and the emotions. When someone like Ustad Amjad Ali Khan performs for a cause it's very obvious that it'll create tremendous curiosity amongst the people. The same curiosity and excitement were seen recently at Nehru Park during 'Music in the Park' series organised by Spic Macay. The evening was dedicated to victims of Mumbai terror attack.

The program kicked off with the lighting of lamp by Jerome Bonnafont (Ambassador of France in India), Milena Ramirez (Ambassador of Venezuela in India), Parimal Rai (Chairman, NDMC) & Smt. Subbalakshmi Khan (wife of Ustad Amjad Ali Khan), followed by one minute silence to pay tribute to the victims.

He commenced his concert with 'Nibadh Alaap' in 'Raag Sree' followed by various others and ended with tunes of 'Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram'. His performance was unusual as his tunes were very touchy and painful saying the story of this tragedy. During the concert he also performed his own creation in 'Raag Bapukaunce', he created in the memory of Mahatma Gandhi for UNESCO. Well known media personality Suneet Tondon was the compere for the evening.

After the concert Ustad said, my family since generations have believed that music is a gift of god and it has no religion. Entire nation is upset about recent terrorist activities in Mumbai, they (terrorist) are like animals who don't understand the pain, they just want to create never ending fear and we are the victims of it. We need to stand by it and at the same time a strong reply should be given so that they think before doing anything.

Held out in the open in a lush green park enclosed by sprightly trees and carrying ineffable smell of the fragrant dewy grass and blooming flowers at the advent of spring, the ambience was a handiwork of SPIC MACAY, joined in by the NDMC and Airtel, ideal for the outpouring of mellifluous music.

9th CRY Cadence Corporate Citizenship Challenge

9^th CRY Cadence Corporate Citizenship Challenge
Giving Free and Quality Education a Sporting Chance..

New Delhi, December 6, 2008: For the ninth successive year, CRY - Child Rights and You and Cadence Design Systems combine sport and corporate citizenship to bring the 9^th CRY Cadence Corporate Citizenship Challenge - 5Cs on December 6 and 7, 2008.

The spirit of this partnership is all about creating awareness and sensitizing people to child rights in India. This year, uniting 12 teams on the pitch in Delhi, 5Cs endeavours to focus on the crucial issue of free and quality education for all Indian children. The teams are from Cadence, The Oberoi, FreeScale, Market Rx, OPTO Group, Radisson MBD, KPMG, RBS (The Royal Bank of Scotland Group), QA InfoTech, Rockwell Automation, Polaris Software Lab Limited, DSCL (DCM Shriram Consolidated Limited).

Endorsing the message and flagging off the inaugural match of the 9th 5Cs at the Modern School Grounds, Barakhamba Road was boxer and Olympic medalist, Vijender Singh, who won a bronze medal in the 75kg category at the recent Beijing Olympics.

This CRY-Cadence union stands apart in the area of corporate. NGO partnerships because it goes beyond giving out a cheque. It is a process of engaging and entering a partnership where both parties feet responsible for the cause of India's underprivileged children. The participation of teams from other corporate houses causes this message to reach a wider audience. The fact that this engagement has evolved and deepened is demonstrated by the fact the partnership is now in its 9^th year, without a gap. While in earlier years the focus has been on cricket, this year, the event pans out as an Olympiad, including multiple sports like Cricket, Soccer, Table Tennis, Badminton, Mini Marathon and Basket Ball. The diversification is deliberate: It epitomizes the multidimensional nature of child rights and underscores the point that child rights is not the preserve of the development sector but can and should be actualized by all sections of society.

Speaking on this occasion, Mr Jaswinder. S. Ahuja, Corporate Vice President and Managing Director, Cadence Design Systems (I) Pvt. Ltd., says, "Education helps open window of opportunities for growth and development. The event has grown from strength to strength over the past nine years. Cadence is pleased to be associated with CRY on this initiative and help realize dreams of underprivileged children."

Adding to this, Bondana Dutta, Regional Director, CRY, spoke of the long association with Cadence "At CRY we view the association with Cadence as an abiding one that shows deep commitment and an understanding of the issues of child rights. In a sense this illustrates the extent to which corporate houses can work towards greater social justice."

In the past eight years, the CRY Cadence Corporate Cricket Challenge, has raised 2.4 crores, impacting the lives of numerous underprivileged children and their communities across India. In its 9^th year the CRY Cadence Corporate Citizenship Challenge will raise close to Rs. 30 lakhs. A major chunk of this will be given to specific CRY projects that are powered by a common vision to remove the root causes that lead to deprivation, exploitation and abuse, thus ensuring all children, their basic rights to live, learn, grow and enjoy childhood. All this would not have been possible without the support of organisations such as Foundry Networks, Avocent India, Tyco Electronics, Polaris Software Lab Limited, Ahluwalia Contracts (India) Ltd, QAI InfoTech, APARA, PC[ Limited, Orange Business Services, D-Link, Sun Microsystems, RBS and CMC

About CRY (Child Rights and You):

CRY - Child Rights and You earlier known as Child Relief and You - is India's leading advocate for child rights. Over 28 years CRY has partnered with NGOs, communities, government, the media and is dedicated to mobilising all sections of society to eliminate the root causes of deprivation, exclusion, exploitation and abuse. For more information please visit us at www.cry.org,

About Cadence Design Systems

Cadence enables global electronic design innovation and plays an essential role in the creation of today's integrated circuits and electronics. Customers use Cadence software and hardware, methodologies, and services to design and verify advanced semiconductors, consumer electronics, networking and telecommunications equipment, and computer systems. The company is headquartered in San Jose, Calif., with sales offices, design centers, and research facilities around the world to serve the global electronics industry. More information about the company, its products, and services is available at www.cadence.com.

About Jaswinder S. Ahuja

Jaswinder S. Ahuja is a Corporate Vice President and the Managing Director of Cadence Design Systems in India. Jaswinder leads Cadence's India Operating Region. He is also responsible for defining the globalization strategy for Cadence and developing REtD centers in Russia, Taiwan and China. From 2002 to 2004 Jaswinder was based at Cadence headquarters in San Jose, California and was responsible for establishing and leading the Strategic R&D partnerships and the RftD Central Operations functions for the company. Jaswinder started his career with Cadence in 1988 as a software engineer and has led the India operations since 1996. Under his leadership the India center has grown from an RETD site of around 120 to a corporate resource center of over 700 employees across R&tD, Corporate IT support, Global Customer Care and Field Operations. He has led the India center to be recognized for its operational excellence and as the #1 IT Employer in India among the small companies for four years in a row from 2002 to 2006 based on the DQ-IDC annual best employer surveys. Jaswinder serves on the board of advisors of FirstRain, Inc. and Zafesoft, Inc., and is the Chairman and a member of the Executive Council of the India Semiconductor Association. Jaswinder has a B.Tech in Electronics Engineering from IT-BHU, Varanasi and an MS in Computer Engineering from Northeastern University, Boston, USA. He also holds an Executive MBA from Stanford University, USA.