Karan Singh performs at ICCR soiree

New Delhi: Revealing another side of his versatile nature, Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR) president and veteran Congressman Karan Singh rendered a selection of light classical and devotional songs Wednesday as part of the ICCR`s Horizon Culture series.

The series has been bringing cultural showcases every fortnight for almost a year. Singh, who belongs to the former royal family of Jammu and Kashmir is the first president of ICCR to sing at the council`s official soiree, the ICCR said. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh`s wife Gurcharan Kaur was present at the soiree. A trained classical musician, Singh`s repertoire included devotional hymns, ghazals, Dogri songs and classical and semi-classical vocal music. But the MP had kept his passion private. "Music had been a major and magnificent input into my consciousness from an early age," said Karan Singh, who is also a Rajya Sabha MP. An Evening of Music had Dr Karan Singh eminent scholar and statesman sing his favourite songs from 4 Genres- Ghazal, Classical, Geet and Dogri at ICCR's Azad Bhawan Auditorium. Describing himself as an amateur musician, Dr Karan Singh says he makes it a point to sing once a week. “Music plays an important role in my life. I am fond of listening not only to Indian classical music but also Western Pop. In fact, I am a big fan of Whitney Houston who died recently. I have also admired the likes of Billy Joel.” Dr Karan Singh was given lessons in music by Pandit Uma Dutt Sharma, father of Santoor Maestro Shiv Kumar Sharma. “He was my teacher in Kashmir. As ICCR is the hub of cultural activities, I decided to sing and hope people liked it.” (With Agency Inputs)