Raga bond

Roshni Samlal

The West has had a long-standing fascination for Indian classical music, as evidenced by the phenomenal success that the likes of Pandit Ravi Shankar and, more recently, Ustad Zakir Hussain have received. Brooklyn Raga Massive (BRM) is a New York-based collective that keeps the flames of Indian classical music burning in the US in the present day. It hosts an annual festival called Women's Raga Massive, which will be held online this year, meaning that audiences in India, too, can enjoy the performances.

Kiran Ahluwalia

The line-up features five musicians - Kiran Ahluwalia (vocals), Roopa Panesar (sitar), Debasmita Bhattacharya (sarod), Roshni Samlal (tabla) and Kamaljeet Ahluwalia (santoor). The idea is to highlight the role that womxn (a gender-neutral term) have played in bringing Indian culture before a global audience. It's thus apt that the festival is being held to honour Women's History Month in March. So, tune in when the festival opens this morning, and if you don't catch it, never mind. There will be another performance next Saturday.

On: March 20 and 27, 7 am (IST)
Log on to: brooklynragamassive.org