Museum of History And Industry, November 2, 2019

MOHAI Seattle, November 2, 2019

"Beyond Bollywood : Indian Americans Shape The Nation"

What a great opportunity to play Sitar at the Museum of History and Industry (#MOHAI) in Seattle today! This was a part of the #BeyondBollywood exhibit that showcases the history and contributions of immigrants from the Indian subcontinent. It’s a wonderful and thoughtful exhibit! Highly recommended.

Another great opportunity today was meeting Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal from Seattle in person! She is the first Indian-American woman to serve in the US House of Representatives. Her speech was so inspiring! And we could really relate to some of her experiences as an immigrant. Really quite an honor to meet such an accomplished personality.

I really want to thank Leonard Garfield, the director of MOHAI, for giving me this opportunity.

With Washington State Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal

TaalKraman August 2019

Thank you Pratidhwani for such a wonderful opportunity!

Folklife Festival 2019

What a great show.... Great job guys!

Sunrise over the Caribbean Sea

Jyoti Kalash Chhalake, a song in Raga Bhupali on Sitar

Rolling waves of Cabo San Lucas

Raga Des Dhun on Sitar

Playing music together with students

A short song in Raga Yaman with young students (Shiri Kuntal Roy on Tabla)

A short song in Raga Jhinjhoti with studetns (Shri Kuntal Roy on Tabla)

A short song in Raga Bihag with stdents (Shri Kuntal Roy on Tabla)

Payoji Maine Ram Ratan Dhan Payo

My rendition of the famous Meera bhajan "Payo Ji Maine" on Sitar.

पायो जी मैं ने राम रतन धन पायो ...

वस्तु अमोलिक दी मेरे सतगुरु, किरपा करी अपनायो .

जनम जनम की पूँजी पा{ई} जगमें सभी खोवायो .

खरचै न खूटै, चोर न लूटै, दिन दिन बढ़त सवायो .

सत की नाव, खेवटिया सतगुरु, भवसागर तर आयो .

मीरा के प्रभु गिरिधर नागर हरख हरख जस गायो .

The essence of the bhajan in short is:
The knowledge my Guru gave me is so precious and priceless that I feel like I acquired a precious gem. Being accepted by the Guru as his / her disciple, that's the ultimate blessing.

Tabla : Shri. Kuntal Roy
VC : Shailendra Upadhye, Vin Bhalerao

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKaz3BRuSVY