By Mabel Pais

Mausiqui (an Urdu language word for Music) is the expression to explore sound and the origin of Vedic chants. Five leading musicians: Hidayat Khan, Ehren Hanson, Camilla Celin, Joshua Geisler and Abhik Mukherjee, each with their unique instrumental talent, explore music and the origin of the Vedic chants with narration and poems by Sunayana Kachroo Bhide. The event will take place at Merkin Hall at the Kaufman Music Center, 129 West 67th Street, New York, NY 10023 on Saturday, June 11, 2022, at 7:30 p.m. ET.

“Indian musical tradition is deeply rooted into the fabric of the world and has inspired artists from saxophonist John Coltrane to the iconic Beatles to rap artist and mogul Jay-Z,” said Dr. Nirmal K. Mattoo, Chairman, IAAC. “Vedic chanting connects the performer and the listener to the movement of the Earth.  These performers are truly masters of their craft and their works evoke a powerful message of peace and unity.”

This first-of-its-kind event features Indian classical music with touches of Sufi (or Sufism, also known as Tasawwuf, a mystic body of religious practice within Islam characterized by a focus on spirituality, ritualism, asceticism and esotericism), jazz, semi-classical and world music with narration and poetic renditions by Sunayana Kachroo Bhide.

This unique journey to explore the sound and the origination of the Vedic chants in tune with the vibration of the Earth will highlight deep-rooted music and traditions of India through beautiful words, stories and instruments.  The program for the performance is as follows:

Track 1: Vedic Chants (expressed in the same notes for thousands of years)

Track 2: Ahir Bhairav (a traditional Indian classical composition)

Track 3: Chaity (folk music from the roots of India)

Track 4: Spiritual Love (a composition by Hazrat Amir Khusro that blurs the lines between romance and spirituality)

Track 5: Confluence (inspired by Latin music)

Track 6: Shades of Blues (meeting of western and Indian music)

Track 7: Phadi (a deep-rooted tradition of Indian folk)

Track 8: Surrender (a sufi comp by Hazrat Amir Khusro about love and surrender)

TICKETS

Tickets are available at kaufmanmusiccenter.org/mch/event/mausiqui.

Prices differ for preferred seating, students and seniors. Student and senior tickets can be purchased at the Kaufman Music Center box office or by calling 212 501 3330. Premium tickets are available at eventbrite.com/e/mausiqui-tickets-342567216767.

FEATURED ARTISTS

HIDAYAT HUSAIN KHAN

A direct descendant and proponent of one of the most treasured lineages of eastern classical music, sitarist Hidayat Husain Khan is the youngest son of the legendary sitarist, Ustad Vilayat Khan.  He harbors a rare, creative brilliance that effortlessly takes him across all genres and nuances of music.  A charming transition from the very classical to the very colloquial, from playing the intricate Etawa Gharana to performing with the Rolling Stones.

Khan carries the torch of a coveted lineage spanning seven generations of outstanding vocal and instrumental court musicians.  Khan has performed across the globe at such prestigious venues as Royal Albert Hall in London, Kennedy Center in Washington D.C, Carnegie Hall and Alice Tully Hall in New York. Having lent his versatility in several film score compositions, he has collaborated with such illustrious musical names as: Ndugu Chancler, Ronnie Woods, Alicia Keys, Usher, Zakir Hussain, Pete Townshend, Will.I.Am, Jay Z and Darryl Jones.

CAMILA CELIN, Guitar

Camila Celin is a musician, composer and Grammy award-nominee from Colombia.  She began playing the guitar at age nine and has been studying the Indian Sarod for over a decade in Kolkata with Tejendra Majumdar and in the USA with Alam Khan. Her former gurus include maestro Krishna Bhatt and Sougata Roy Chowdhury. In 2009, she was nominated for a Grammy for best world music album in collaboration with the Hindustani slide guitar maestro Debashish Bhattacharya. Camila performs around the world and has composed music for film, theater and commercials. She lives between New York and Kolkata, India.

EHREN HANSON, Tabla & Hand Percussions

Ehren Hanson is a professional New York-based tabla player. He began learning tabla at age 15 under Misha Masud and he became a disciple of legendary tabla maestro Pandit Anindo Chatterjee, with whom he has been a dedicated disciple ever since. Ehren performs classical Indian music as a soloist and accompanist in NY and around the world, accompanying maestros including the late Pandit Ramesh Mishra, late Pandit Subrata Ryan Chowdhury, Steve Gorn and more. He has also collaborated on experimental and creative projects with West African star Noura Mint Seymali, Cuban legend Bobby Carcasess, Roman Diaz and the American Symphony Orchestra. He is the co-host of the Brooklyn Court – a music series featuring touring and local artists in an intimate setting, reminiscent of the royal courts of Indian history. Ehren is also the founder of Viewcy.com, an amateur chef and a polyglot.

JOSHUA GEISLER, Bansuri & Bass Guitar

Joshua Geisler is a musician, flute maker and author, who specializes in the Bansuri, the North Indian Bamboo Flute, and is known for his flowing, highly ornamented style that effortlessly weaves together Indian Classical Music and Jazz. Geisler studied guitar at Berklee College of Music, where he developed an interest in the music of other cultures along with meditation and spirituality.  To incorporate these interests, he began learning the bansuri. After graduating, he studied North Indian Classical music with bansuri master Steve Gorn and flutist Pandit Raghunath Seth. He has also studied with Varanasi-based Sarod maestro Pandit Vikash Maharaj, a 14th-generation master musician. Besides being an award-winning artist, he has written the book, The Chromatic Bansuri, that details a unique fingering system of his own creation that enables the bansuri to play virtually any style of music.

Geisler composed and performed the soundtrack for the award-winning documentary My Life in China directed by Kenneth Eng. He recently returned home after touring for nine years with Cirque du Soleil’s “TOTEM” with whom he performed 2,650 shows around the world.

ABHIK MUKHERJEE, Sitar

Abhik Mukherjee is a Kolkata-born sitar player of the Etawah-Imdadkhani gharana (a lineage of music style). He was initiated to the sitar at the age of six by his father, Sri Tarit Mukherjee, and Sri Bimal Chatterjee, while simultaneously receiving vocal instruction from Sri Kaylan Bose. He has since taken talim from Pandit Arvind Parikh and Pandit Kashinath Mukherjee, themselves disciples of the legendary Ustad Vilayat Khan. He is a gold medalist in musicology from Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata, and has received a scholarship from the Ministry of Culture, India.

Abhik’s first public performance was at the age of nine at the Governor’s House, Kolkata. He has since performed in ten countries on four continents. Some memorable concerts include performances for the inauguration of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in Washington D.C. and more.

Abhik currently lives in New York and is a founding member of Brooklyn Raga Massive, an Indian classical music artists’ collective. He is the director of academic affairs at Chhandayan School of Music in New York City.

SUNAYANA KACHROO BHIDE, Narration

Sunayana Kachroo is an award-winning poet, film writer, producer, lyricist and a columnist. Her oeuvre has been vast and impressive, encompassing Poetry, Films, collaboration with other artists including musicians, dancers and poets. She has written for various award-winning movies, which have been screened at many prestigious film festivals like Cannes, MAMI and Austin Film Festival.

Sunayana expresses herself through diverse styles of writing in English, Hindi and Kashmiri language. She continues to explore various themes ranging from love, home, loss, nature, mythology, healing, women’s empowerment, prejudices and much more. Sunayana has performed across the world through poetry shows and recitations. She engages the audience with her unique style of expressing poems as compelling visual images, laced with observations and anecdotes.

The Indo-American Arts Council

To learn more, visit iaac.us

(Mabel Pais writes on The Arts and Entertainment, Social Issues, Cuisine, Health & Wellness and Spirituality)