THE SACRED ART OF PLAYING THE SITAR GROWS IN SPIRIT WHEN IT FLOWS DOWN TO ITS DISCIPLES.
Renu Jain wishes to pass her dedication and devotion to Indian Classical Music to the next generation of artists.
To learn from the maestro herself, is an opportunity that comes once in a lifetime. If soul stirring strings is your calling,
you could be the gifted one.
SITAR QUEEN OF INDIA
For Renu Jain, the Sitar and self are identical entities; for her music is not just a discipline, but life itself – vibrating and pulsating, filled with myriads of colours. The power of her Sadhana is deeply felt in the mesmerizing music of her Sitar. The profound sweetness of her passionate and beautiful music fills the heart with bliss. It is through sheer precision and an astute artistic sense, that she has carved for herself a nitch in the limitless universe of Indian Classical Music. A versatile artist, she has spent her early years painting with oils and water colours, dabbling in ceramics and sculpture, and discovering the grace of Kathak dance. After graduating in English Literature from Miranda House at Delhi University, and majoring in Interior Design from the University of Minnesota (USA), she resumed her love with music. In all, these pursuits she had the yearning to discover her own expression, which led her to the magical kingdom of ‘Sapt Swaras’. And the yearning became an obsession, occupying all her wakeful hours. The renowned Fashion Designer Payal Jain, Renu’s daughter, testifies by saying “I grew up watching my mother practising her sitar for 16 hours a day. Her commitment to her music is unparalleled and it is for her, complete dedication, deep passion and her entire life". This total devotion was tenderly nurtured by her husband, Dr Prem Jain; Renu says "I owe my music to him".
RENU JAIN ON HER PURSUIT OF MUSIC
"Playing Sitar for me, is an offering of worship, at the feet of the Lord; to express in joyous abundance, my gratitude for the gift of music. It is for me, the most fulfilling creative experience. If I only played sitar for the rest of my life, I'd have lived my life in its fullest measure", says Renu. She lives to play and loves to play. Her rhythmic music merges her soul with music, becoming one with the Raga, its moods, its various shades and emotions, as her 'Mizrab' works magic on the strings. She says "Thoughts of mine that are never captured by words, find expression in the joyous notes of my music". According to Renu, the ultimate purpose of her music and sitar is "To spread happiness or Ananda, to the human soul, to bring a smile on every face, to feel the joy and ecstasy at the core of the heart of all creation of God Almighty".
CONTRIBUTION TOWARDS MUSIC
For more than thirty years, she has played countless Sitar Concerts in all corners of the world, always for a cause and for serving the Arts. She has played at Festivals of Music; for International Congress for Arts & Music in Mauritius, Muscat (Oman), North Carolina University (USA), Washington DC (USA), Toronto (Canada), Adelaide & Sydney (Australia) Dublin (Ireland) Oxford University & Cambridge University (UK), Lisbon (Portugal); also closer to home at New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Lucknow, Udaipur & Indore. Recently she was invited to give solo performance at Gandhi Centre, Washington DC, on 2nd October, the Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, to pay homage thru her Sitar, to The Father of the Nation.
Her Music has touched many facets of human life. Through her concerts, she has collected funds for Andh Vidyalaya, the Blind School for Boys at New Delhi; NAB Centre for Blind Women, New Delhi, Rasikapriya Kochin Physical Rehabilitation Centre, Aluva; Vivekananda Sangeeta Academy, Trichur; Brahma Kumari Academy,Mount Abu; Prayas Society for Handicapped Children, New Delhi,Burns Association,Mumbai; Tamana School for Special Children, New Delhi; Darpan, Lucknow and many many more.