Paris to celebrate 'Hariprasad Chaurasia Weekend'

The 71-year-old classical musician who was appointed 'Knight in Order of Arts and Letters' by the French Ministry of Culture in July this year will perform at the musical extravaganza, 'Hariprasad Chaurasia Weekend' which will take place in June 2010.

"India and it's culture is finding its due place in the international scene and I am really happy to be contributing to that phenomena through my music. The knighthood came as a surprise and it is a great honour to have an entire event planned around you," Chaurasia said.

The flutist, who has been awarded both the Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan, will perform with artists chosen by him at four concerts and a public master class at the Musee du Quai Branly.

"Indian classical music leaves Western audiences astonished. They are used to concerts where musicians perform with their notes in front of them and then they come to an Indian recital an artiste performs with no such help.

"They observe keenly and the applause at the end is often deafening," said Chaurasia who has also been honoured by the Dutch Royal family who conferred the title 'Officer In The Order Of Orange Nassau' on him.

Born into a non-musical family in Allahabad, Chaurasia went against the wishes of his father, who wanted him to be a wrestler, to pursue his passion for music.

And the world-renowned artiste says that he wants to continue performing till his last days.

"Music is life to me and the moments I spend on stage performing for my audience are the most beautiful ones. Each performance is a different experience. I had recently performed in Durban and will be performing in Dhaka next," said the maestro.