Artistes 4 Change- Music-Singer- 2012-13

 Rekha Surya

Rekha Surya is a practitioner of the Lucknow Gharana of North Indian music. As one of the few practitioners of this style, Rekha has revived and preserved the artistic legacy of her legendary guru Begum Akhtar. Rekha has nurtured the memory of her mentor by propagating her art at some of the most prestigious concert and lecture venues globally, including the Smithsonian Institution, World Music Institute and The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Her infusion of spirituality into romantic poetry is unique. The true value of Rekha's vocal practice lies in her ability to synthesise and integrate South Asian Muslim poetry from the Sufi traditions with a distinctly indigenous, Hindu-inspired musical style in the Raga system. She has been able to combine two traditions to produce and perform music that serves as a crucial ambassador of inter-religious harmony, tolerance and peace. As art transcends politics and is a true messenger of peace, Rekha's aural contribution to this strife-ridden world is substantial and invaluable. Given her academic background in English literature (BA, Delhi University) and her thorough training in the fundamentals of Indian classical music theory, she has the rare ability among South Asian vocal artistes to be able to introduce non-Indian audiences to the genre in a simple and approachable way. The ancient literary traditions she draws from are deeply infused with South Asian Muslim and Hindu cultural references and are a rare, valuable, specialized and most unique mode of expertise. She is an A-Grade Artist from All India Radio and is in the Established-Artist category with ICCR. She represented India at the Asian Music Festival Sri Lanka in 1999 and at the International Falak Festival Tajikistan in 2006 and has given many fund raising concerts.