Veena Sahasrabuddhe comes from a family of musicians. Her father, Shankar Shripad Bodas, was a disciple of Vishnu Digambar Paluskar. Young Sahasrabuddhe started her musical education with kathak dance.
She was initiated into Khayal singing by her father and her brother, Kashinath Shankar Bodas. Balwantrai Bhatt, Vasant Thakar, and Gajananbua Joshi have also contributed to her education. The style she has created for herself retains the fundamental values of Gwalior gharana while borrowing somewhat from Kirana and Jaipur gharanas.
The vidwans laud the authenticity of her music while most listeners are moved by its directness and intensity. Apart from Khayal, she is sought after for her rich repertoire of bhajans.
She has sung at all the prestigious venues and occasions including Tansen Samaroh in Gwalior and Sawai Gandharva in Pune. At the Vokalfestival in Stockholm and at the Voices of the World festival in Copenhagen she represented Indian Classical Voice. She has recordings under many leading labels. She has been awarded the Uttar Pradesh Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for the year 1993.
Sahasrabuddhe will be accompanied by Abhiman Kaushal (tabla) and Vivek Datar (harmonium).
Kaushal represents the Farukkabad and Lucknow styles of tabla. Having been initiated into the art by his father R.B. Kaushal, who was a disciple of the legendary Amir Hussain Khan, Kaushal later continued his training under the famous Sheikh Dawood of Hyderabad, India, and the ustad’s senior most disciple, B. Nandkumar. Kaushal has accompanied most of the leading musicians, singers and dancers of North Indian classical music. He has toured around the world performing in prestigious venues. He has numerous recordings and world music collaborations. He has recorded a soundtrack for National Geographc’s “Man Eaters of North India,” for the movie Zoolander, and performed for MTV’s Aerosmithicon show.
Datar learned to play the harmonium from the late Vinayakrao Kale and continued his learning from Seema Shirodkar. He has been accompanying for more than 20 years, and has performed both in India, as well as the U.S. and Canada.
Saturday, Sep. 10, 6-8 p.m. Loyola Marymount University, Ahmanson Hall, 1 Loyola Marymount University Drive, Los Angeles, 90045. $30 general, $20 student. Tickets: http://sulekha.com. (610) 585-7951.