Grammy winner Ricky Kej to perform at Vidhan Soudha

 Grammy Award Winner Ricky Kej is to perform at the Vidhan Soudha here on October six as part of the 60th celebrations of the landmark building and would become the first Indian to do so on any of legislature assembly premises in the country. 

"It has been a dream for me to perform at Vidhan Soudha (the seat of the state legislature of Karnataka). As a child, I used to come with my father here to see this imposing architecture, and I enjoyed every bit of the moments that I spent here," he told reporters here. 

"Now, I have almost fulfilled my dream to perform on the steps of the Vidhan Soudha. It is an honour to do so and I am very grateful to legislative Council Chairman D H Shankarmurthy and the Siddaramaiah government to have given me the permission," he said. Kej said two personalities, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Chief Minister Siddaramaiah changed his life after he met them after winning the Grammy Award.  

"Meeting PM Modi was a life-changing experience. During the 45 minutes to an hour's meeting with him, he told me to dedicate my entire life on making music on environment and conservation," he said.      In July, Kej had performed at the United Nations General Assembly Hall as part of the opening of the first ever annual NOVUS Summit, at the special event held during the United Nations High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development.

Kej, who also is a noted environmentalist and conservationist, announced the hosting of RoundglassSamasara Festival 2017 pertaining to environment here from October two to October 11. The festival will have series of events including environment art exhibitions, film festivals, music concerts and summits, he said.

The festival will help encourage a high-level,  inter-disciplinary dialogue between legislators, scientists,  film-makers, artists, environmentalists, innovators and  musicians, he said.   

 Republic of Kiribati President Anote Tong, first Iranian astronaut Anousheh Ansari, Bollywood actress Dia Mirza and former Union Minister Jairam Ramesh also would attend, he  added.

 Grammy award winners Darlene Koldenhoven (USA), Wouter Kellerman (South Africa) and Rocky Dawuni (Ghana), among others also would attend, Kej said.