Art & Entertainment

Karan Singh

The politician and ICCR president debuted on stage as a singer recently

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Karan Singh
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We’ve never heard an ICCR president sing.

Well, I am just an amateur. I have been fond of music all my life. The director general, ICCR, suggested that I sing and I tried to put it off, but finally he pinned me down!

What drew you to music?

I learnt Dogra Pahari songs from my mother, while my father got me to learn classical music from tutors, mainly Pandit Uma Dutt Sharma.

Are you regular with your riyaaz?

Yes, an hour every Tuesday evening.

You’re a self-confessed “rock ’n roll addict”.

I’ve followed rock ’n roll from Bill Haley and His Comets. I listen to Billy Joel, Dire Straits. Whitney Houston was one of my favourites.

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And your favourite Indian classical artistes?

I’m more fond of particular ragas, than of particular people. I’ve heard all the greats. Kishori Amonkar probably is at her best today.

You adopted a ‘Look East’ policy for ICCR.

When I took over, there was only one centre—in Colombo. I’ve opened nine new centres, in Kabul, Kathmandu, Thimphu, Dhaka, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Beijing, Tokyo and Seoul.

Why these locations?

Because India has had centuries-old relations with these countries, which were disrupted by invasions and colonial rule. Their languages and philosophies are deeply influenced by Buddhism and Hinduism, which came from India.

Overseas cultural centres in the pipeline?

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Singapore, Buenos Aires, Washington DC and central Europe.

One ICCR achievement you are proudest of.

The expansion of centres abroad, the saarc rock festival, our scholarship programmes.

How has our concept of culture evolved?

There is a greater realisation that soft power is as important as political or economic relations. Political relations are government to government, economic ties are corporation to corporation, but culture is people to people.

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