As part of the 14th Bibliotheca Alexandrina International Summer Festival, the four-member Santoor Instrumental Music group will start with a performance on 5 September in Alexandria before moving on to Cairo, AlexandriaMinya and Beni Suef. The Indian musicians will be led by renowned santoor master Bipul Kumar Ray, whose performances grace many local and international stages and are aired by India Radio and Doordarshan (Indian radio and television channels). In Egypt, he will be accompanied by Indranil Mukherjee on the mridangam, Avinash Kumar on swarmandal and Manohar Balatchandirane. According to the organisers, "the artists will be presenting a meditative and soulful performance and will allow the audience to experience the purity and beauty of Indian Classical Music." The santoor, a 2,000-year-old instrument, originates in the Kashmir region of India and is made of a hollow box on top of which there are 25 bridges, each carrying four strings, and is played using wooden mallets. The instrument was used for centuries to perform music related to Sufi philosophy, played to accompany singers or played solo. The instrument is also known to Persian, Arabic and Greek cultures, where it carries different names and varies in the number of strings. The famed Zorba the Greek played the santoori (or cimbalom) box with metal strings stretched across its top. Programme: Monday 5 September, 8.30pm Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Alexandria Tuesday 6 September Time and location to be advised Attendance by invitation only Please contact Maulana Azad Centre for Indian Culture for more details. Wednesday 7 September, 8pm Minya, exact location to be advised Thursday 8 September, 8pm Beni Suef Cultural Palace, Beni Suef For more arts and culture news and updates, follow Ahram Online Arts and Culture on Twitter at @AhramOnlineArts and on Facebook at Ahram Online: Arts & Culture
