If you’ve never experienced live Hindustani classical music before, Friday 13 March is the perfect night to begin. And if you have — you’ll know exactly why this concert is not one to let slip by.

ArtSound FM, Saara Holidays, and Radio Manpasand are delighted to present An Evening with Vidushi Kalapini Komkali at the Mansfield Room, Wesley Music Centre — one of Canberra’s most beautiful and intimate performance spaces, with just 100 seats. Doors open at 6pm.

About Kalapini Komkali

Kalapini Komkali is widely recognised as one of India’s finest classical vocalists — and her musical lineage is extraordinary. She is the daughter and principal disciple of the legendary Pandit Kumar Gandharva, one of the most innovative and beloved figures in the history of Hindustani classical music, rooted in the venerable Gwalior tradition. She was also trained by her mother, the acclaimed Vidushi Vasundhara Komkali.

From her parents, Kalapini inherited not only the deep technique and grammar of classical music, but a rare capacity for creativity, reflection, and emotional depth. In 2023, she received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award — India’s highest honour in the performing arts — for Hindustani Vocal. Her voice has been described as wholly original, melodious, and extraordinarily rich, never sacrificing meaning for mere vocal spectacle.​​

What to Expect on the Night

Kalapini’s programme moves through three connected worlds, each one revealing a different facet of India’s musical soul.

She’ll open with the timeless structures of pure Hindustani classical music — the ancient raga system, meditative and complex, built up over millennia. Think of a raga as something like a musical mood or colour: a set of notes and rules that a master vocalist uses as a canvas for improvisation, gradually revealing its character over the course of a performance. It asks patience from the listener and rewards it generously.

From there, she’ll move into the folk songs of the Malwa region of Madhya Pradesh — the same rural heartland where her father, Pandit Kumar Gandharva, found some of his greatest inspiration. These are earthy, warm songs rooted in the landscape and daily life of central India, and they provide a beautiful contrast to the formal rigour of classical ragas.​

The evening closes with Sagun-Nirgun Bhajans — devotional songs of Indian saint-poets that sit somewhere between prayer and pure music. Nirgun bhajans speak to the formless divine; Sagun bhajans celebrate the divine in form. In Kalapini’s hands, they are known to still a room entirely.​

Accompanying her on stage: Abhishek Shinkar on Harmonium and Ramendra Singh Solanki on Tabla — two accomplished artists who will hold the rhythm and texture around her voice.

Hear Her Voice

Before you book, take two minutes to listen. This will tell you everything:

Don’t Leave It Too Late

The Mansfield Room holds just 100 people — and this is a genuinely rare event: a world-class artist, an intimate room, and an evening of music that will stay with you. Call or message Amod or Jyoti to secure your seat. An evening of classical beauty, right here in Canberra — don’t let this one slip by.​

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