Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Sept 6: The renowned conductor the Bavarian State Orchestra Zubin Mehta today arrived in Srinagar amid tight security for the concert that is being held on Mughal era Shalimar Garden.
Accompanied by former Chief Minister and Union Minister Dr Farooq Abdullah and German Ambassador Michael Steiner, Zubin Mehta visited the Shalimar Garden this evening amid tight security.
Mehta told the waiting media persons outside Shalimar Garden: “I am not going to say anything. I am happy to be here.”
The German Ambassador Michael Steiner, who is the brain behind the concert didn’t speak to the media to avoid any last minute controversy however, he said: “Let the music play.”
Earlier on his arrival in Srinagar in the afternoon, Mehta drove to Taj Vivanta on the Kral Sangri hills overlooking Dal lake.
Top dignitaries including Ambassadors of some European countries, Central Ministers, top bureaucrats, business and film personalities are arriving in Srinagar tomorrow to attend the concert.
The road to the Shalimar will be closed for the public tomorrow and only those who are participating will be allowed to proceed towards Shalimar Garden after several security checks.
The security in Srinagar has been put on high alert. Police and para-military Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were deployed across sensitive places in Srinagar city and check points were erected to conduct surprise security checks of the vehicle entering Srinagar.
The road from Srinagar International Airport to Shalimar Garden is being sanitised and security forces are guarding both the sides of the road to prevent any sabotage.
The Shalimar Garden has been sealed off and no one is being allowed to enter the garden. The security forces are conducting searches in and around the garden for any explosives and sabotage. Sniffer dogs and metal detectors are being used to scan the entire area around the Garden to prevent any sabotage.
The police and para-military CRPF will patrol Dal lake and no movement will be allowed inside the lake near Shalimar Garden area.
In the meantime the State Government has allowed the Coalition of Civil Society to hold its rival concert, Haqeeqat-e-Kashmir, in Srinagar’s Sher-e-Kashmir Park. The concert will be held between 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
One of the CCS members, Khuram Pervaiz said that the permission has been granted to them but it was late in the evening. “We will hold discussions with the Deputy Commissioner to change the timings to around noon”, he said.
The 80-strong contingent of the Orchestra arrived a few hours ahead of their conductor, who will be playing a composition of Kashmiri musician Abhay Rustum Sopori, besides compositions of some famous 19th century European musicians.
Mehta is scheduled to play the composition of Ludwig van Beethoven, the 18th century composer considered as crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music.
He will also play compositions of Franz Joseph Haydn, the Austrian composer who is often called the “Father of the Symphony” and “Father of the String Quartet”, and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, the 19th Century Russian composer whose works included symphonies, concertos, operas, ballets, and chamber music.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah visited the venue of the concert today to review the arrangements.
PTI adds from New Delhi:
“I didn’t choose Kashmir, Kashmir chose me.”
This is how renowned international music conductor Zubin Mehta reacted brushing aside controversies over his concert on the banks of the Dal lake in Srinagar tomorrow after his arrival in New Delhi.
Mehta, an Indian-origin maestro in western classical music who conducts Bavarian State Orchestra, refused to comment controversies surrounding the performance of his troupe in Shalimar Bagh gardens saying he was just here to play music.
“I don’t have anything to say to them (separatists and those opposing his concert)….We are playing our music,” he said.
“I am extremely happy (about performing in Kashmir). I hope and wish for the blessings of the people and the country for our music,” he said.
Mehta, who was today decorated with the Tagore Award for Communal Harmony by President Pranab Mukherjee, said “music is the message of peace” and he and his team members will attempt to do that tomorrow at the ‘Ehsaas-e-Kashmir’ (Feel of Kashmir) music concert.
While receiving the Tagore award from Mukherjee at the Rashtrapati Bhawan, Mehta said he needs blessings from everyone and that he and his troupe will “only be playing form our hearts” in Kashmir.
Mehta also had good wishes from the President who wished that the celebrated musician would “enthral” the people of Kashmir.
The President called Mehta a “distinguished son of India” and also the country’s “cultural ambassador”.
Mehta (77), a maestro in western classical music who conducts the Bavarian State Orchestra, was described by the President as a “distinguished son of India” whose mission “has been to bring peace where there is misery and conflict.”
At a ceremony in the Rashtrapati Bhawan, the President presented a golden plaque, a citation, shawl and Rs one crore to Mehta, a day before he performs with his troupe on the banks of the Dal lake in Srinagar.
The award citation pays Mehta rich tributes and says that “no other Indian has achieved such distinction in the world of Opera”.
“In our divided world, there are few who rise above nation yet stay rooted to home, remain proof against prejudice and sensitive to suffering and bring joy to people through their lifelong work. One such individual is Zubin Mehta,” read the citation.
Calling Mehta’s felicitation with this award a “wonderful choice”, Mukherjee said his work as a composer was a deep devotion to the cause of humanity.
“It’s only appropriate that this award should be conferred upon him,” Mukherjee said. The award is given to a person who has worked selflessly for promoting cultural harmony irrespective of whether he holds a high public office or not.
Calling himself a “simple musician”, Mehta, who has earlier been decorated with the Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan, spoke about Nobel laureate Tagore and lamented that Mahatma Gandhi was not awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
“The Nobel Peace prize was not given in 1948 when Gandhi was killed,” he said, adding that it should be considered now.
“Who deserves (the Nobel) more than Mahatmaji?,” he said.
Mehta spoke about the power of music in healing the mind and the soul.
“We must never underestimate the power and inner peace that music brings. Look at our country, from north to south every village sings and dances,” he said.
Mehta said he was proud to be the successor of Pandit Ravi Shankar who received the award last year.
In his acceptance speech, Mehta extolled Gurudev Rabindra Nath Tagore who was not only a poet but also a philosopher, composer, author and an educationist.
“This man’s aura has always been with us,” he said.
Congratulating Mehta, the President wished him a long life, good health and purposeful years of brilliant music.
“As he (Mehta) reaches out, through his music, to inspire states and their people with his message of tolerance and peace, we pay tribute to him for his unfailing efforts to foster unity and understanding among the communities of the world.
“His spirit and dedication is an affirmation of Rabindranath Tagore’s vision of ‘that heaven of freedom’ where the world is not divided ‘by narrow domestic walls’,” he said adding that it was a matter of pride that despite being away from the country for long, Mehta has retained his Indian citizenship.
“We are recognising his (Mehta’s) untiring efforts, over the decades, to convert music into an instrument of peace and harmony. He has made it his mission to bring hope and reason wherever there is conflict and discord. Zubin Mehta’s music has the power to transcend boundaries. He has earned for himself a unique position in the musical narrative of the world,” the President said.
The event, at Rashtrapati Bhawan, was attended by Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde and Culture Minister Chandresh Kumari Katoch.
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