Pune: Music has no boundaries; it has the power to heal the soul and pull distant hearts together. Curated to promote Indo-Japan relations, the Sakura festival has a lot to offer to Punekars this Sunday at Liberty Square, Phoenix Marketcity. Get ready to be mesmerized as Takahiro Arai – Santoor player, Hiroko Sarah – singer, songwriter & Kathak dancer, Ibex – Rapper and Samir Rishu Mohanty aka Rapper Big Deal, popular artists will steal your hearts with their breathtaking performances. While Takahiro will captivate the crowd by playing Raga Charukeshi, Rupaktaal and Teentaal on the Santor, Hiroko, Ibex and Samir will rock the stage with their Indo-Japanese music and dance show.
So, save the date and head on down to Pune’s very own Phoenix Marketcity to experience the Sakura vibes.
About the Artists:
Takahiro Arai is a Japanese Citizen and for the past 14 years living in Mumbai and learning Santoor under the tutelage of his Guru, the renowned Santoor Maestro – Pt. Shivkumar Sharma. At the age of 26, he started taking his initial lessons from Mr. Setsuo Miyashita, a disciple of Pt. Shivkumar Sharma. After about two years of study with Mr. Miyashita, he decided to come to India in May 2007. Mr. Miyashita was kind enough to guide him to his present Guru Pt. Shivkumar Sharma who accepted him as his student and disciple after observing his dedication to learning Indian Classical Music – especially Santoor. He received a Scholarship from Jaipur Gems from 2009 to 2010, Pandit Jasraj -Rotary Club of Hyderabad Award for Cross-Cultural Understanding 2012.
Hiroko Sarah is from Tokyo, Japan and now lives in Mumbai, India. She works as a multilingual Singer-songwriter (English, Japanese & Hindi) on solo and collaboration projects with other artists in India and foreign countries.
Ibex is from Mumbai, India and has grown creating by Hip-Hop & Reggae music over the past 7 years. Inspired by reggae artists like Snow, Sean Paul, Damian Jr. Gong Marley and rap artists like Eminem, Nas – Ibex started creating music with a versatile style that drifts from dancehall to reggae to rap. In 2007, He made a stunning debut making his first freestyle verse with IshQ Bector aka Aye Hip Hopper. Keen on this art form, Ibex started creating music and performing Live shows actively ever since. His projects include mixtapes, singles, and music videos and he is working on an upcoming album. His works derives influence from both Hip Hop and dancehall styles.
Samir Rishu Mohanty a 25-year-old rapper, who performs under the self-appraising moniker Big Deal, was born to an Indian father and a Japanese mother. His lyric predominantly focuses on uplifting lives and inspiring people to overcome everyday struggles. Each one of us has struggles, however big or small, and struggle is the only thing that keeps us at our feet grinding. It helps us get better and without it, our lives would lose meaning. So, he raps for that one kid with a dream to provide him with enough inspiration to carry on and persevere, regardless of the struggle that he faces.
Date: 1st May 2022
Venue: Liberty Square, Phoenix Marketcity, Pune
Time: 7:00pm to 10pm
Entry: Free to all
