Indian musician Ravikiran will be heading for Bradford in the summer to prepare for a high-profile Millennium project being hosted by the city.

He is one of only a handful of people in the world who can play the chitravina, one of the most ancient types of lute known to man.

The event, called Global Echoes, is being organised by the Bradford-based South Asian arts organisation Kala Sangam.

"Only five people in the world play it," said Dr Geetha Upadhyaya, artistic director of Kala Sangam, which received a £30,000 Millennium Commission grant from the National Lottery to pay for Global Echoes.

"The chitravina is a very rare instrument and it's very difficult to play. It is played using a plectrum and there are no frets so you don't know which notes you are striking."

The chitravina is a 21-stringed Indian lute. It has a hollow stem made of resonant wood about 2ft long and 4in wide. It has a flat top and is set on two chambers, the main one made out of wood and the secondary one of gourd.

A couple of plectrums on the right hand pluck the strings while the left hand uses a cylindrical block of ebony.

The chitravina is one of the oldest instruments in the world and is mentioned in the Natya Shastra, the treatise on dance and music documented 3,000 years ago.

Ravikiran will bring his chitravina to Bradford in June for a series of rehearsals with members of the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra.

Global Echoes will be a collaboration between the two, culminating in a series of performances of a new composition at venues in Bradford, Newcastle, Manchester and London in the autumn.

"It's a fantastic testament to all the hard work that many, many people have put into Kala Sangam that we are able to bring together such notable artists for a UK tour," said Dr Geetha.

"Music transcends language barriers, bringing people together in a way that no other art form does and our work in 2000 will celebrate that."

Kala Sangam began its Millennium programme with Kala Utsav, a showcase of the arts of India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh in Bradford last October. But the main focal point is now Rhythms of the World, an educational residency introducing musical instruments from all over the world to children from Bradford schools, and Global Echoes.

"We already have four performances taking place in October and we are still looking to include some more performances as well although the keynote is definitely in Bradford," said Dr Geetha.

"We are starting rehearsals in July for most main performances and that's when Ravikiran will come again.

"He's got performances all over the world so it's tremendous that we have got him to come here. To see him play is amazing. I always feel as I am watching his fingers dancing on a livewire."

Ravikiran's grandfather Narayana Iyengar and father Narasimhan were both players of the chitravina.

Hailing from the southern Indian state of Tamilnadu, Ravikiran from the age of five won rave reviews by delivering three-hour classical vocal concerts.

By the age of ten his interest had turned to the chitravina. Within a couple of years he had mastered it and was performing all over India and subsequently abroad.

Kala Sangam was founded in 1993 and became a registered charity and limited company three years later.

Based at the Carlisle Business Centre in Carlisle Road, Bradford, it now has a board of 14 trustees or directors under the chairmanship of Harry Atkinson.

There are three full-time staff - an artistic director, programme development officer and community/education officer - and more than 50 freelance artists and volunteers work with Kala Sangam.

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