New Horizons

·Ashok Roy is undoubtedly one of the great exponents of the Indian Sarod — Sydney Morning Herald October 1987

 

Pandit Ashok Roy became the Head of Music Department at the Doon School in Dehraddun. He also toured in Europe extensively around 1967 performing in Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Paris Vienna and Sicily until opportunities were created arose for him to travel to South East Asia. The Indian Council for Cultural Relations ICCR, ventured into establishing Indian Cultural Centres in South East Asia.  One of the Cultural centres in this region was the Suva Cultural Centre in Fiji which was to be managed and controlled by eminent artists who were master musicians one among them was the now married Pandit Ashok Roy.

Between 1972 to 1977 he regularly visited The Indian Cultural Centre in Suva as a Visiting Lecturer during which time he availed of further opportunities to come to perform in Australia. It was not until he was fortunate enough to meet a Suprano singer Nancy Eileen Grover that Pandit Ashok Roy considered visiting Australia.  I met with Nancy Grover, now residing in the Blue Mountains near Sydney when she fondly recalled the first time she heard Pandit Ashok Roy in Fiji accompanied by Bhagwan Pandey on the tabla. She says his music had such an effect on her that she returned to Sydney and set about meeting the elite members, musicians and artists in Sydney with whose assistance she was able to organise a concert for him. However this was a year later.

© Sumathi Krishnan and www.ptashokroy.wordpress.com, 2009. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Sumathi Krishnan and www.ptashokroy.wordpress.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

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