Sitar player lets music fill him
■Taught by masters such as
Ravi Shankar, Kartik Seshadri
brings experience and passion
to classical Indian sounds
By Nicole Hill
for the Emerald
Sitar player Kartik Seshadri’s mu
sic has a tone that is difficult to put
into words — a tone he said takes
listeners away from all the sadness
in the world.
The internationally acknowl
edged artist will perform North In
dian classical music with tabla
player Sanju Sahai tonight at 8 p.m.
in Beall Concert Hall.
The sitar is a 13th-century Vedic
instrument that produces what Se
shadri called “tonal ideas.”
“It is the deepest spiritual lan
guage,” he said. “And people usual
ly come away from the music feel
ing different."
Seshadri began performing full
length recitals at age 6 and later be
came a formal disciple of a highly
esteemed guru, with whom he has
traveled for performances at concert
halls in India, Europe, the Near East,
Japan and the United States. Se
shadri was compelled to pick up the
sitar at such a young age while lis
tening to his father play, he said.
“I just remember feeling loved by
it,” he said.
In 1965, Seshadri became a disci
ple of guru Pandit Ravi Shankar,
who has helped him find “taleem,”
or knowledge, of the pure roots of
his music. Music in India is not
taught by reading music or memo
rizing notes, Seshadri said; it’s
taught by going to a master and “let
ting the music fill you. ”
Mark Levy, the University’s
World Music Series coordinator,
said the music is unique because
when classical European music be
gan branching off in the direction of
symphonic harmony, Indian music
remained focused on only melody
and rhythm.
Courtesy photo
“It’s just one melody at a time,”
Levy said.
Traditional Indian music is gov
erned by “raga,” or melodic con
cepts, improvised with emotional
and rhythmic frameworks, Levy ex
plained. And the sounds of tabla are
what produce that rhythm.
Sahai, a descendant of the
founder of the Benares style of tabla,
has pursued his family’s talents as a
legendary drummer. In addition to
performing with Seshadri in tradi
tional styles, Sahai also brushes
with Egyptian, Spanish, African,
Irish and jazz influences.
Curious students sat cross-legged
in front of Seshadri and Sahai in mu
sic classes earlier this week, letting
their ears fill with sitar sounds and
discussing classical Indian composi
tion. Jeremy Wegner, a research assis
tant in the Institute of Neuroscience,
popped his head into one of the class
es for “a short rag session. ”
“They were just tearing it up,”
he said. “They just seemed so
young to be masters.”
Wegner said he plays Indian mu
sic locally in a band called Bindaas.
Seshadri and Sahai’s four-day
pre-concert visit was part of a new
grant that will also sponsor a free
lecture by the musicians today at 3
p.m. in the Knight Library. The
World Music Series sponsors one
non-Western event per term.
“You can get high through mu
sic,” Seshadri said.
He said in the 1960s there seemed
to be an explosion of interest in In
dian music, but more of a superfi
cial one. But now, he said, even lis
teners coming for their first
performance seem to have a more
serious regard for the music.
Tickets are $8 for students and will
be available at the door. After his con
cert in Eugene, Seshadri will travel to
the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in
Salt Lake City, where he will repre
sent India as a featured performer.
Nicole Hill is a freelance reporter
for the Emerald.
VSA celebrates history with culture night
■A series of skits and dances
will present Vietnamese culture
in modern and traditional ways
By Robin Weber
Oregon Daily Emerald
In past years, the Vietnamese Stu
dent Association’s culture night in
cluded skits, an emcee and ethnic
food. But for this year’s showcase,
the group opted to raise the bar.
“We’re stepping it up a level
with nontraditional movie posters
and making our own video clips
to introduce each part of the
event,” program co-coordinator
Rob Yee said.
This year’s VSA’s culture night is
titled “Doi Song Voi Ban Than,” the
Vietnamese phrase for “A Life with
Close Friends.”
The more elaborate setup corre
sponds with this year’s movie
theme, incorporating more technol
ogy into the former strictly tradi
tional presentation. The skits are
designed to reflect the Vietnamese
culture, folklore and history in a
more modern-day setting.
The event brings an evening of
food, friends and fun in the spirit of
Vietnamese culture to the EMU
Ballroom on Saturday. Doors open
at 5:30 p.m., with a traditional Viet
namese dinner at 6 p.m.
Admission is free, but there is a
suggested $8 donation, and the
event is open to anyone looking to
learn more about the Vietnamese
culture.
Also, instead of past year’s cafe
teria-style meal, this year brings
the addition of a family-style
shared meal, which will be served
to each guest.
Yee and his team of more than 75
members from the VS A and Asian
Pacific American Student Union
have been working 15-20 hours per
week since January to make the
evening come alive.
The evening’s activities are
aimed at VSA’s longtime goal of
community service and bringing a
greater cultural awareness to the
campus, Yee said. During the year,
VSA members also participate in
food drives and Asian holiday cele
brations in hopes of making a posi
tive impact on the community and
enhancing diversity of University
activities.
“We want to teach people about
our culture, to embrace our culture,
to be aware of our culture and to
add to the diversity of our campus,”
VSA co-director Phuc Nguyen said.
This culture is being expressed
not only by skits and guest speak
ers, but dance as well — one mod
ern and one traditional Lotus
dance — complete with authentic
costumes.
The first skit, Lac Lung Quan, is
a myth about a hero who helps his
village and defends the Vietnamese
people, program co-coordinator
Joany Wong said.
“The skits and dances tell about
some history and some myth,”
Wong said. “The first skit sets the
tone for the rest of the evening to
see how the times and people have
changed.”
E-mail reporter Robin Weber
at robinweber@dailyemerald.com.
Abortion
continued from page 3A
clinic trained Phillips and other stu
dents in the group.
Now that University students are
involved, the two schools will ro
tate their escorting duties, she said.
All Women’s Health Services is the
only place in Eugene where women
can go for an abortion, Phillips said.
Sacred Heart—a Catholic hospital—
doesn’t offer abortions.
Eugene Planned Parenthood
spokeswoman Kitty Piercy said
Oregon is one of few states that has
never passed any legislation limit
ing abortion rights. But there is still
a strong anti-abortion presence in
Oregon. She added that, in the past,
abortion clinics in Oregon have
been victims of mailed bomb threats
and an arson.
“There’s a short distance between
mild demonstrating and real dan
ger,1’"she said.
She said the escorts’ presence is
necessary because of the chance
that a situation could escalate.
“Here, Students for Choice take
it really seriously,” she said. “They
want to be there in support in case
there is opposition. I very much
appreciate what Students for
Choice is doing to be part of the
vigilance.”
E-mail reporter Diane Huber
atdianehuber@dailyemerald.com.
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