Slovenian tribute to Ustad Alla Rakha

Ljubljana, Nov 12:

Globally renowned guitarist John Mclaughlin and the Fourth Dimension band, comprising drummer Ranjit Barot, guitarist Etienne Mbappe and Gary Haussman on keyboards, played his composition “Abba-ji” in a tribute to Ustad Alla Rakha at a concert in the Slovenia capital to an enthusiastic audience Tuesday evening.

Returning to Ljubljana precisely one year after “Remembering Shakti” at a requiem concert here, Mclaughlin enthralled the overflowing Kino Siska concert hall for over two hours with the novel sounds of Fourth Dimension jazz — blending Indian, African and western melodies, vocals and global rhythms in a concert that earned paeans of praise from critics and fans from all walks of life.

The concert was preceded by the opening by Indian ambassador to Slovenia, Sarvajit Chakravarti, of an exhibition of paintings by Brina Torkar, a Slovenian artist of Indian origin whose father hails from Chandigarh. Torkar runs an art school for underprivileged children in Ljubljana and actively participates in community welfare projects in the industrial city of Jesenice on the border of Slovenia with Austria in central Europe.

She spoke very fondly of her visit to India, especially to visit her father’s family in Chandigarh, expressing the hope of returning there for an extended period to understand the people and culture of India and build better contacts and understanding between these countries of her two parents.

(IANS)