Dr Chithra Ramakrishnan has been praised for her pioneering work in connecting communities through Carnatic music.
Carnatic music is a system of classical music associated with the southern part of the Indian subcontinent.
Speaking at an event in Birmingham last Thursday to mark the first anniversary of the British Carnatic Choir, or BCC, the first of its kind in the UK, Dr Ramakrishnan said: “I cannot believe just how far we’ve come in a year”. BCC aims to complement Prime Minister David Cameron’s British Values in an attempt to encourage all citizens to respect each other’s way of life and to celebrate good work, through the sounds, words and pictures of BCC.
Guests included the Lord Mayor of Coventry, Cllr Lindsley Harvard, Consul General of India in Birmingham Mr Jitendra Kumar Sharma, peace ambassadors Dr David and Patricia Earle, BCC mature student Mini Mohan, BCC trustee Cllr Ramesh Srivastava, music mentors Ian Axtell, John Yaffe and Derek Wroughton from Birmingham City, Coventry and Newman universities, respectively and our senior news editor Dhiren Katwa.
A minute’s silence was observed as a mark of respect in honour of MP Jo Cox. News of Jo’s tragic and untimely death had broken just hours before the event.
Goodwill messages were received from Paul Sabapathy, Lord Mayor of Birmingham, Cllr Carl Rice – who on the day signed up to be a Patron of BCC - who said that it was through such kinds of music that “we can promote unity, peace, tolerance and togetherness”. In a letter from Her Majesty The Queen, she wished Dr Ramakrishnan well on “this notable anniversary”.
To find out more about BCC visit: http://www.britishcarnaticchoir.com/
