Composing for a Cause - In conversation with vocalist Konark Sarangi

In this Chaitime, we talk to vocalist Konark Sarangi (http://www.konarksarangi.com/). A devoted student of Indian Classical Music and Vocal artist who works on Social Issue based Musical projects. His musical videos Hausla Na Ruthe and Ghar Jaana Hai have met with critical acclaim. His first video “Ghar Jaana Hai” showcases the issue of Drought & Migration. The video has been well accepted in film festivals across the world with 23 official selections (Including Miami Beach Film Festival, Richmond International Film festival, Los Angeles Film Awards) and has won 6 Awards in various categories. His latest video "Hausla Na Ruthe" has the Orissa Super Cyclone as its backdrop. The cyclone struck the state of Odisha in 1999 causing large scale devastation killing around 50000 people. "Hausla Na Ruthe" depicts one such story of 'Charu Maa,' a super courageous woman from the village of Gundalba, Odisha who refused to give up and led a group of women to fight against nature's fury and restored an entire forest cover that got destroyed in the 1999 Orissa Super Cyclone. Konark started his musical learning under the able guidance of Shri Mahesh Kale in the San Francisco Bay Area. His quest for learning the highly rich traditions of Indian Classical music took him to the legendary Dhrupad vocalist, Padmashree Pandit Ramakant Gundecha from whom he learns Dhrupad gayaki. Konark has performed in various solo concerts in the US and has also performed as an accompanying artist in many classical / semi-classical concerts.