Parichaya: An Indian Culture Show
- Public Event
South Indian classical music—better known as Carnatic music—along with its Hindustani cousin, is one of the oldest and purest forms of music played in India. The essence of Carnatic music is in the trifecta of score, beat, and lyrics of the songs, which are devotional paeans to mythological deities of the Hindu religion. Parichaya will include a classical music vocal performance by Prabha Mandayam, accompanied by Naresh Satyan on the flute and Shankar Kalyanaraman on the violin.
Do you believe in destiny? Is there a pre-determined course that our lives must take? Parichaya's one-act play explores these and many other philosophical conundrums with a dash of irony and serendipity.
The tour-de-force finale of the evening will be an indigenously produced movie entitled Made in Heaven...Arranged in Mumbai. You've heard of how Indians go back home by the hordes and get married to people they've never met before in their lives—all because the horoscopes matched and their parents deem it a good "alliance." Surely there must be more to arranged marriages. Find out as Jiggs Patel, a sworn-single, frog-smelling Caltech graduate student journeys back with his friend Travis to Mumbai and reviews a line-up of marriageable girls to choose from for his life partner. (Shot entirely not on location.)
The cultural show is free and open to the public. Following the performance, a catered traditional Indian dinner will be available for $5.00 per person.
Parichaya
