Japanese musicians will enthral Punekars on Sunday in a special event called Celebrating Sakura by Indo Japan Business Council (IJBC) at Liberty Square, Phoenix Marketcity. It is said that music transcends all boundaries and post-pandemic, this musical event will also bring people together, and also promote Indo-Japan relations. Entry to the event is free!

Sunday, 1st May 2022- At Liberty Square, Phoenix Marketcity – Time: 7:00pm to 10pm

The Sakura festival has a lot to offer to Punekars , with Japanese Santoor player Takahiro Arai , Hiroko Sarah – singer, songwriter and Kathak dancer, Ibex – Rapper and Samir Rishu Mohanty aka Rapper Big Deal, who will perform to bring in a slice of Japanese music to Pune.

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. Takahiro said, “Pandemic is like a cold day of winter, and when everything was bleak and dark, patiently waiting for spring to come, but now with less fear of Covid, people are venturing out to a new season, that is of spring is what I feel about Sakura blooms. Performing in public will be an experience people are waiting for, besides Pune has a very good audience for music, they all enjoy all kinds of genres.”

Speaking about the Sakura festival, Hiroko said, “Sakura blossoms in April and looks beautiful.  I used to celebrate the Spring season with Sakura when I was in Japan before 2011. The New Year begins with meeting new people at the school or company in Spring. Since I miss Sakura a lot, my song Japanese Chill Hip Hop song “Shiki No Monogatari” (meaning The Tale Of Four Seasons) along with Indian rapper Ibex and music producer Kushmir is about that.  In this song, we celebrate four seasons including the Sakura season in Japan.  I am so happy that I am going to celebrate Sakura by singing “Shiki No Monogatari” with Punekars”

Know 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 Setsuo Miyashita, a disciple of Pt. Shivkumar Sharma. After about two years of study with Miyashita, he decided to come to India in May 2007.  Miyashita was kind enough to guide him to his present Guru Pt. Shivkumar Sharma who accepted him as his student. 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 Hip-Hop & Reggae music over the past 7 years. 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.  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.

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Date: 1st May 2022
Venue: Liberty Square, Phoenix Marketcity, Pune
Time: 7:00pm to 10pm
Entry: Free to all

Image credits : fb/PhoenixMCtyPune & whatshot pune