AROHI organizes a classical santoor concert on the eve of International Women’s Day

Jammu, March 10, 2025: In an effort to foster a cultural revolution in Jammu & Kashmir, AROHI Sangeet Vidyalaya, a prominent voluntary cultural society, has been discovering and promoting remarkable, untapped talent within and outside the Union Territory since 1986. In collaboration with the Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR), Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India (Regional Branch, Jammu & Kashmir), and Government Women’s PG College, Gandhi Nagar, Jammu, AROHI organized a classical santoor concert on the eve of International Women’s Day. The aim was to instill and raise awareness of the rich traditions of Indian culture among children.

Dr. Veethika Tikoo, a highly talented santoor specialist and music educator, is the youngest female santoor vadika (santoor player) and a daughter of the soil. She has received numerous awards, scholarships, and fellowships, and has had the honor of performing in almost all states of India and many countries abroad. Dr. Tikoo is the first female artist to perform a santoor recital in the European Parliament, invited by the ICCR, Ministry of Culture, Government of India.

It is worth mentioning that she was also invited to play a classical solo santoor recital at the Festival of Young Musicians and Dancers, organized by the Government of NCT, Delhi. The then Chief Secretary, as the chief guest, appreciated her extraordinary talent in carrying forward the great traditions of Hindustani music and the Sufiana Gharana of Jammu & Kashmir.

Dr. Veethika has the distinction of being the first and only female classical santoor exponent, composer, conductor, and santoor educator from the UT of Jammu & Kashmir. She also holds academic credentials, including a BA and MA in Santoor from Prayagraj, an MMus in Sitar, and a PhD in Music from Delhi. She has many published papers to her credit and has also performed and experimented with music therapy.

Dr. Veethika Tikoo presented Raga Charukeshi, with compositions set in Teen Taal in vilambit (slow), drut (fast), and ati drut (very fast) gat (composition). This was followed by a semi-classical piece in Punjabi Theka. She was accompanied by Neeraj Verma, a virtuoso tabla player from Jammu & Kashmir, and on Tanpura by Chandhi and Gurpreet Singh.

Special guests, staff and principals of the colleges, music lovers, and students listened attentively and with great involvement.

Chief Guest Dr. Darakshan Andrabi, Chairperson of the JK Waqf Board and Minister of State, praised Arohi Sangeet for organizing the classical santoor recital to cultivate music awareness among students and music devotees since 1986, and for their successful efforts in persuading the government to open a postgraduate music department in government colleges in 2003. Dr. Andrabi also praised Dr. Veethika for her striking talent in carrying the great traditions of classical music and the Sufiana Gharana of Jammu & Kashmir to younger generations. The Chief Guest also commended Neeraj Verma for his artistic tabla talent, and the Arohi Sangeet board of directors for their efforts in promoting cultural pluralism and providing free music training to specially-abled, visually impaired, and economically disadvantaged sections of society.

Ch. Vikram Randhawa, MLA, Bahu Constituency, and Guest of Honour, praised Rajaji, President of Arohi, for his concrete efforts to carry forward cultural diversity and assured his support for the promotion of classical music and folk culture.

Director of the Press Information Bureau, Government of India, Neha Jalali, IIS, Guest of Honour, expressed her praise for the artists and for the Arohi President for organizing such events, particularly on International Women’s Day. Secretary of the JK Cultural Academy, Harvinder Kour, offered words of encouragement to the Arohi Sangeet board for their propagation of classical music and folk culture.

The mega concert was also addressed by special guests Dr. Arvind Kirwani, Commissioner of Relief and Rehabilitation, and Prof. Dr. Padmini Tikoo, Sitar Maestro, UT of Jammu & Kashmir. They praised AROHI for organizing and fostering classical music awareness among students and music devotees since 1986.

The artists were felicitated by Pooja Malhotra, Convener of Rotary Club Start, Jammu Zone, and Rekha Mahajan, Senior BJP Leader.

The welcome address was presented by Rajesh Kumar, Regional Director, ICCR, Regional Branch, Jammu & Kashmir.

The vote of thanks was delivered by Roshan Bhan, Secretary, Arohi Sangeet.

Prof. Revika Arora skillfully anchored the Arohi program.