Sandeep Das & the HUM Ensemble

A kaleidoscopic journey of music, dance and storytelling that celebrates the shared history between India and Afghanistan. World Premiere.

22/23 Hop Presents

Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, a Sanskrit shloka, means "the world is one family." For centuries, the human spirit has thrived by transcending literal and figurative borders to cross-pollinate ideas and expressions of art, illuminating societies across time and space. Inspired by this confluence of cultures, Delhi to Kabul is a celebration of the shared history between the two countries that were major trade centers of the legendary Silk Road and flourished with a vibrant cultural, musical and linguistic exchange.

The evening's program draws on Indian Classical/Semi-Classical music, ragas, Afghan Klasik and poetry, pulsating folk grooves and lyrical thumri to create innovative new collaborations. Featuring some of the most iconic instruments of each country, the tabla (a pair of hand drums from North India), rabab (an ancient lute-like instrument from Afghanistan common to many Central Asian countries), and sitar will be joined by Kathak dance (a classical storytelling dance from India) and Afghani author/storyteller Homeira Qaderi. The eclectic and soulful repertoire, a mix of traditional music and new compositions, engages differences only to overcome them, and connects us at an innately human level. It takes us on a mesmerizing journey of new beginnings, exquisite poetry, lyrical exposition and romantic yearnings.

Das will be in residence at Dartmouth this spring during which he will teach a class in the Music Department. He will be joined by the HUM Ensemble on campus for one week to develop Delhi to Kabul. This concert is the culmination of their residencies.

This performance is part of a Music Department Residency. A conversation with the artists follows.

An earnest quest to start a dialogue, spark compassion, and stimulate the imagination to see beyond geographical borders, Delhi to Kabul is a musical invitation to a spiritual odyssey, inspired by the spirit of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam—the beautiful ideal of inclusion, empathy, global community and humanitarianism.

Delhi to Kabul is the fourth project under the canopy of Das's initiative, Transcending Borders One Note at a Time, which aims to harness the transformative power of music to inspire positive social change.

About the HUM Ensemble

Founded by Sandeep Das in 2010, the HUM Ensemble is dedicated to promoting global understanding and transcending borders through the power of music. The HUM Ensemble's debut concert took place in New Delhi and by popular demand it continued performing throughout India in major cities such as Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai. The ensemble has since expanded to a global scale, performing at venues like the Europalia Festival in Brussels, Cal Performances in Berkeley, California, Carolina Performing Arts in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and other venues throughout the US, in addition to regular invitations for residencies and masterclasses at major universities.

Artists of the HUM Ensemble have performed at music festivals worldwide including the World Music Festival (Prague), WOMAD (Madrid, Incheon, Australia, and New Zealand), and the Mystic Music Festival (Turkey), among many others. The ensemble's debut album, Delhi to Damascus, was released in May 2020.

HUM is additionally a nonprofit organization in India, and has sponsored the musical education of nine visually-impaired children through the HUM-Lanxess National Scholarship.

The Program

The Hop Presents

Sandeep Das & the HUM Ensemble
Delhi to Kabul

World Premiere

Sandeep Das, tabla
Qais Essar, rabab
Rajib Karmakar, sitar
Homeira Qaderi, author
Antara Bhardwaj, Kathak dance

Thursday, April 20, 8 pm
Rollins Chapel • Dartmouth College • 2023

The Hop’s 2022-23 Season is supported, in part, by the New England Foundation for the Arts through the New England Arts Resilience Fund, part of the United States Regional Arts Resilience Fund, an initiative of the U.S. Regional Arts Organizations and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, with major funding from the federal CARES Act and the American Rescue Plan Act from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Program

This evening’s program will be divided into four unique segments.
Additional repertoire information to be announced from the stage.

I. Soundscapes - tabla, sitar, rabab
Sandeep Das, Rajib Karmakar, Qais Essar
A selection of traditional music from India and Afghanistan including classical music, folk music and new compositions bridging both worlds.

II. Motion - Kathak Dance
Antara Bhardwaj, Sandeep Das, Rajib Karmakar
A classical dance form from India renowned for its rhythmic prowess and programmatic storytelling.

III. Storytelling - Poetry, narration, dance and music
Homeira Qaderi, Antara Bhardwaj, Sandeep Das, Rajib Karmakar, Qais Essar
A series of new musical compositions illustrated by poetry, narration and dance.

IV. Finale

Program Notes

Delhi to Kabul (World Premiere)
Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, a Sanskrit shloka, means “the world is one family.” For centuries, the human spirit has thrived by transcending literal and figurative borders to cross-pollinate ideas and expressions of art, illuminating societies across time and space. Inspired by this confluence of cultures, Delhi to Kabul is a celebration of the shared history between India and Afghanistan, two countries that were major trade centers of the legendary Silk Road and flourished with a vibrant cultural, musical and linguistic exchange.

The evening’s program is a kaleidoscopic journey of music, dance and storytelling drawing on Indian Classical/Semi-Classical music, ragas, Afghan Klasik and poetry, pulsating folk grooves and lyrical thumri to create innovative new collaborations. Featuring some of the most iconic instruments of each country, the tabla (a pair of hand drums from North India), rabab (an ancient lute-like instrument from Afghanistan common to many Central Asian countries), and sitar will be joined by Kathak dance (a classical storytelling dance from India) and Afghani author/storyteller Homeira Qaderi. The eclectic and soulful repertoire, a mix of traditional music and new compositions, engages differences only to overcome them, and connects us at an innately human level. It takes us on a mesmerizing journey of new beginnings, exquisite poetry, lyrical exposition and romantic yearnings.

An earnest quest to start a dialogue, spark compassion and stimulate the imagination to see beyond geographical borders, Delhi to Kabul is a musical invitation to a spiritual odyssey, inspired by the spirit of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam—the beautiful ideal of inclusion, empathy, global community and humanitarianism.

Transcending Borders One Note at a Time
Delhi to Kabul is the fourth project under the canopy of Sandeep Das’ initiative, Transcending Borders One Note at a Time (TBONT). Inspired by the spirit of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, a Sanskrit shloka (saying) which proclaims “the world is one family,” TBONT is a socially-driven project series seeking to harness the transformative power of music to create positive social change. It brings together masters of artistic traditions from around the world to produce works that are both uniquely innovative and deeply rooted in their original cultural heritage, then brings them beyond the concert hall and into local communities through a variety of performances, residencies, community engagement activities and talks/presentations. This concert is the culmination of the HUM Ensemble’s residency at Dartmouth College over the past week.

About the Artists

Hailed as a “creator of myths with Houdini-like skills” (The Sydney Morning Herald, Australia), Sandeep Das (tabla) is one of the leading Indian tabla virtuosos in the world today. Debuting at the age of 17 with legendary sitar maestro Ravi Shankar, he went on to establish a prolific international career that now spans more than three decades. He has collaborated with top musicians and ensembles from across the globe such as Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble, with whom he has performed for the past 21 years, as well as Paquito D’Rivera, Bobby McFarin and iconic orchestras like the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony and Chicago Symphony, among others.

A Grammy-winning musician and Guggenheim Fellow, Das’ groundbreaking new music projects sit at the crucible of ancient tradition and modern innovation, enchanting audiences worldwide with “flawless playing” (Songlines Magazine, U.K.) and a “roadmap for irresistible aural adventures” (Downbeat Magazine, U.S.A.). His original compositions have been performed in over 50 countries at venues like China’s Forbidden City Concert Hall, Australia’s Sydney Opera House and the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, California. He is also an active public speaker and has presented at The New York Encounter, The EG Conference, TEDx events, and multiple university residencies. In 2015, he established Das Tabla School, where he currently trains musicians from 6+ countries both online and in-person in Boston, Massachusetts. To learn more about him, please visit www.sandeepdas.com.

Qais Essar (rabab) is a contemporary Afghan composer, instrumentalist, producer and rabab player. He has toured extensively, sharing his music nationally and internationally. He has composed pieces for the 2021 Oscar-nominated film, Three Songs for Benazir (2021), as well as the Golden Globe and Oscar-nominated film, The Breadwinner (2017), and received a Canadian Screen Award for Best Original Song for his piece The Crown Sleeps. Essar continues to be featured in festivals and venues around the world including the Newport Folk Festival, SxSW, The Kennedy Center, Treefort Music Festival and more.

Rajib Karmakar (sitar) is a Los Angeles-based performing artist, composer and educator who combines tradition with innovation to create new forms of musical expression. He received his musical training in sitar from Pt. Durgadas Karmakar and Pt. Ramdas Chakravarty, and in Vocals from Ustad Ghulam Akbar Khan. Drawing from this deep grounding in Indian Classical Music, Rajib’s projects involve performances across the globe and work with studios such as Sony, Warner Brothers, Dreamworks and Disney. He is the founder and current director of the Los Angeles International Music and Arts Academy, and has collaborated on several world music projects such as Dhara, Wahh World Fusion, Loop Science and Nada Naissance.

Homeira Qaderi (author) is an Afghan writer, activist and educator. She has written seven books, including a collection of short stories and her acclaimed novel Noqra: The Daughter of Kabul River (Rozgar Publishers, 2009), and was a 2021-22 Radcliffe Fellow at Harvard University. Before leaving Afghanistan, Qaderi taught at Gharjistan University, in Kabul, and worked as a senior advisor to both the Minister of Education and, earlier, the Minister of Labor, Social Affairs, Martyrs and the Disabled. A lifelong human rights activist, Qaderi was awarded the Malalai Medal—Afghanistan’s highest civilian honor—for exceptional bravery by the president of Afghanistan.

Born in India, Antara Bhardwaj (Kathak dance) is a dynamic Indian Classical artist specializing in Kathak dance. She began her study of Kathak with her Guru, the late Pandit Chitresh Das, at the age of nine and spent many years studying one-on-one with him in the traditional ancient Guru-disciple tradition. She went on to become a Kathak soloist, a member of the internationally renowned Chitresh Das Dance Company, a teacher for the Chhandam School of Kathak, and the founder of her own dance company and school, Antara Asthaayi Dance.

About the HUM Ensemble
Founded by Sandeep Das in 2010, the HUM Ensemble is dedicated to promoting global understanding and transcending borders through the power of music. The HUM Ensemble’s debut concert took place in New Delhi and by popular demand it continued performing throughout India in major cities such as Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai. The ensemble has since expanded to a global scale, performing at venues like the Europalia Festival in Brussels, Cal Performances in Berkeley, California, Carolina Performing Arts in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and other venues throughout the US, in addition to regular invitations for residencies and masterclasses at major universities.

HUM is additionally a nonprofit organization in India, and has sponsored the musical education of nine visually-impaired children through the HUM-Lanxess National Scholarship.

Connecting Artists to the Community

A conversation with the artists follows the performance. Sandeep Das is co-teaching a class in the Music Department with Professor Ted Levin. In addition he will engage with students through class visits. The HUM Ensemble will be on a week-long residency on campus to develop Delhi to Kabul, which culminates in the world premiere of this concert.

"Murmuration" an adventurous ice work by Le Patin Libre, being performed in Thompson Arena April on 13-15 as part of the Hop's Spring 2023 Season

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Sandeep Das & the HUM Ensemble

Sandeep Das & the HUM Ensemble

A kaleidoscopic journey of music, dance and storytelling that celebrates the shared history between India and Afghanistan. World Premiere.

The Program

In the News

Reimagining encounters along the Silk Road: Tracing the musical traditions of India and Afghanistan

Contact Us

Box Office

Visiting Information

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