Lakshmi has been awarded the Fulbright – Nehru Professional and Academic Excellence Fellowship for 2019-2020 under the teaching cum research category. The research component involves a study of improvisation in Jazz. Lakshmi will be involved with teaching Indian Music particularly the improvisational aspect. The residency will offer her an opportunity to participate in conferences, give lectures and performances. She will be attached to the College of Music, Colorado University, Boulder
in her words…
Being selected for a Fulbright-Nehru Scholarship for the year 2019-2020 was a momentous achievement for me. The application process was gruelling and took a good part of 3 months. My residency includes both teaching and research. The research proposal is about Improvisation and I plan to study Jazz improvisation which is vastly different from improvisation in Indian music. I will also be involved in teaching. I look forward to interacting with American academics and musicians. A conference on Rhythm in November in which I will probably present a paper on South Indian Rhythm is exciting as is a prospective lecture series across the country.
Not insignificant is the attraction of the natural bounties of the US. Boulder especially beckons because of its rolling hills – rockies all around. The cold is of course a worry, but I plan to enjoy that too – me a South Indian whose cold is 18 degrees celsius.