Hungry for jazz?

Veronika Harcsa from Budapest will sing to you today.u00a0Can you keep yourself away from listening to this Hungarian siren?

Talking to Veronika Harsca is a dangerous endeavour in itself. She'll talk about India with vivacity, which, if your guards are down, quickly rubs on you. And when the 28-old-lady from Budapest sings on the stage, things get deadlier. Hyperboles aside, the lady is damn good at what she does. And she is performing today with Polish and Indian musicians in a Jazz Fusion concert to mark the end of the Hungarian Presidency of the Council of the European Union.



Wild mustang on fire
Rumour has it that Veronika made an entry in the Hungarian scene almost four years back, a wild card entry which created quite a flutter down there and all this accomplished without asking for a piggy ride from other established musicians. The lady stirred up a mini-storm at the Palace of Arts in 2008, so much so that you'll find Veronika fans not only in her own country but in as far as in Japan. "Today, we will perform my compostions, the Beatles' Come together number and a jugalbandi with the Indian and Polish musicians," says Veronika.

Hardcore indophile
Veronika is extremely excited about India and right now she is on a shopping spree. "I don't know about the name of the bazaars but I'm excited nonetheless," she says with a hearty laugh. "I came with my share of second hand info about India's rich-poor divide, its traffic and problems. But I saw people on the streets have a strange sense of calmness, which I hardly see on the faces on people in Hungarian streets" she says. "And yes, we are going to Agra after the show to see the Taj. Cliched as it might sound, it's a fantastic oppurtunity," she adds. And yes, she plans to watch a Bollywood movie if she gets the chance. Salman or Shah Rukh that she has to figure out.

And the others
The concert will also feature Polish painist Mateusz Kolakowski and Indian violinist Johar Ali Khan
(who was performingu00a0 for the German Chancellor and President Patil on Tuesday) and tabla player Mohitu00a0 Lal.

Jazz fusion concert
At: Stein Auditorium, India Habitat Centre, Lodhi Road
Timings: 7pm onwards
Ring: 23014497
(Free entry passes avaliable at the Hungarian Information and Cultural Centre)