After her well-received performance in Wellington, celebrated Hindustani classical vocalist Arati Ankalikar-Tikekar visited Christchurch, where she was acknowledged and honoured by the local Marathi community and participated in an informal International Women's Day celebration.
The event was held at The Courtyard, Sydenham on Wednesday, 8 March, and was organised by Christchurch Marathi Group - Apli Manse team led by Abhay Vengurlekar with support from Suruchi, Sudhir Joshi, Dhaval, Amol, Komal, Rahul and Padmakar Shevde.
The intimate gathering provided a platform for Ankalikar-Tikekar to discuss her musical journey and share her experiences with the audience. She spoke candidly with Komal Save and Abhay Vengurlekar about her childhood, her musical influences, and her experiences as a woman in the music industry.
Talking about her childhood, Ankalikar-Tikekar said, “I was fortunate to have parents who were passionate about music and always encouraged me to pursue my dreams. My mother would sit with me during my riyaz (musical practice) encouraging me to keep going. My parents made sure I had access to the best gurus in the field.”
Despite being a woman in the music industry, Ankalikar-Tikekar said she had never faced any challenges or discrimination for her gender.
“I believe, every performer is equally respected in the music industry, regardless of their gender. I also always had great conviction in myself and was very focused on my music because of which nobody bothered me and let me follow my passion.”
Speaking in Hindi, Marathi and English, Ankalikar-Tikekar also spoke about her contemporaries, Sadhana Sargam, and their healthy competition and mutual respect for each other.
When asked about her musical preferences, Ankalikar-Tikekar shared that she enjoys modern music, especially singers like Arijit Singh, Shreya Ghoshal, and Sunidhi Chauhan. She also fondly reminisced about her guru, Kishori tai Amonkar, and described her as "raga personified."
“When Kishori tai sang, she would become the raag she sang and even made the audience feel the soul of that raag.”
The highlight of the evening was a special surprise for Ankalikar-Tikekar when the organisers connected her husband, Uday Tikekar, live from India on video. The audience enjoyed the light banter between the two, and Tikekar wished her a happy Women's Day.
A sumptuous dinner was organised after the event which was enjoyed by all.
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