Mysore/Mysuru: The 16th concert under the ‘Ninaada Gruha Sangeetha’ series will be held at #37, ‘Ninaada,’ Rishabh Siddhi Layout, Kergalli, Mysuru, on Jan. 18 at 6 pm. This event, presented by the Ranjani Memorial Trust, will feature a Hindustani classical vocal concert by Koushik Aithal of Bengaluru accompanied by Sumith S. Naik on tabla and H. Prasad Kamath on harmonium.

Music connoisseurs Meera and Hemant Korwar are the sponsors for this concert.

PROFILES: Koushik Aithal is a very prominent Hindustani vocalist based in Bengaluru. Born on July 29, 1983, Koushik was initiated into classical music early in his childhood by his parents. But it was only as a young boy that he underwent training in Hindustani classical music under Humayun Harlapur for several years. Koushik’s talent and dedication brought him from his native town, Thirthahalli, to Bengaluru, where he undertook a graduate course in Business Management.

He was accepted as a disciple by Pt. Parameshwar Hegde, the foremost disciple of late Padma Bhushan Pt. Basavaraj Rajguru. Pt. Hegde, who is a leading exponent of Kirana, Gwalior and Patiala Gharanas, honed Koushik’s abilities in Khayal gayaki and set him on his way to becoming a promising artiste.

Sumith S. Naik hails from Kochi, Kerala. He was initiated into music by his parents Sudhakar Naik and Meera. He started his initial musical training under Vid. Naveen Pai and then continued his training under the tutelage of Dr. Udayraj Karpur.

He has accompanied many renowned senior musicians and promising youngsters. He has performed numerous tabla solo concerts, Karnatak Talavadya percussion ensembles and solo accompaniment with his Guru Dr. Udayraj Karpur. He also plays for other genres like Ghazals, Jazz, Bhakti Sangeet, Natya Sangeet and Sufi-Qawwali. He has played background scores for many movie tracks like ‘Mohavalayam’ and ‘Sthalam.’ He has given outstanding performances at platforms in India and abroad.

H. Prasad Kamath, son of Prakash Kamath & Jayashree, started to learn music at the age of 7, under Vid. Mahabhaleshwar Bhagwat. He has since then been learning from the renowned harmonium maestro and composer, Sudhir Nayak, Mumbai. He has completed B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering at NITK and after working at Reliance Industries for 3 years, he is currently based in Udupi, pursuing his passion.