Who we are
Bharghava Halambi, Giridhar Udupa, U Nagendra Udupa & Sandhya Udupa
Ãrambha, the beginning…
Udupa Foundation is a registered charitable trust founded by Ghatam Giridhar Udupa in 2015 , with the aim of promoting music, performing arts and culture. The Foundation endeavors to take this truth many steps forward to ensure India’s rich musical and performing arts inspire the future generations, continuing the traditions that have enriched our lives for centuries.
The inspiration for this artful journey comes from renowned Mrudanga artiste Vidwan Ullur Nagendra Udupa who believed in imparting knowledge to all those keen to learn, irrespective of their financial or cultural backgrounds. One of the few percussion artistes from the Karavali region in Karnataka, Udupa started his career as a Yakshagana artiste and embarked on a new payana in percussion art, after migrating from his home village to Bangalore with meagre resources. His determination and dedication to music brought him to the center stage of Carnatic classical percussions. With performances in over 5,000 concerts , Udupa is a keen teacher, dedicated to imparting his knowledge to young learners. It was for this reason that he started an institution for training students in 1975 .
His son and disciple, Ghatam Giridhar Udupa, an internationally renowned Ghatam player, is keen to take his father’s legacy higher and deeper. He has now conceptualized and set up “Udupa Foundation” with an objective to disseminate the inherited traditions of India to a larger audience.
What we do
Udupa Foundation seeks to advance a concept of world art through creative collaborations, to bring the best of various musical traditions that are present within all of us. To make this interface as inclusive as possible, Udupa Foundation is reaching out through diverse platforms and activities : Teach, support, promote, disseminate and heal through art forms. A special focus would be on the Rural Youth who are eager to learn the finer aspects of our culture. Udupa Foundation would be the interface connecting the young in rural India with their urban counterpart.
The Foundation intends to take the deeksha forward by opening, running and helping music schools, colleges and other music institutions. Realizing that families of budding artistes are in dire need of economic support till such time the artistes can start earning decent incomes, the Foundation Trust plans to help them. Healing through music is a unique initiative of the Foundation as is organizing events and performances in rural areas. To overcome the restricted representation of music, Udupa Foundation plans to organize innovative concerts to aid students and rasikas to learn and appreciate classical music. There are also plans to preserve and promote extinct musical instruments and art forms.
- Ensure that music and culture is not beyond the reach of the underprivileged, awarding scholarships, help them pursue education in performing arts.
- Make the entire effort inclusive and ensure participation of artistes from rural areas and hold programmes in remote parts of the country.
- Launch learning centre in rural and urban areas to create a stimulating environment for music and performing arts.
- Conceptualize and organize innovative public performances through national and international collaborations.
- Recognize and reward artistes and other professionals in the field including critics, research scholars, and musical instrument makers.
- Collaborate and research with selected universities and schools across the globe. Partner with other organizations keen on taking this pledge forward.
- Create an online archive and build a rich knowledge bank of various aspects pertaining to Indian performing arts.