Qalam Pakistan Initiative and Sacred Music Columbia Present:

“Come, This Is the Way”: An Evening of Hindustani Poetry & Music with Apporva Mudgal, Ria Modak and Yacouba Sissoko.

Date: Thursday, September 19, 2024

Time: 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM

Location: St. Paul’s Chapel, 1160 Amsterdam Ave., New York, NY 10027

Drawing from poetry in North Indian languages — including Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi, Poorvi, Brijbhasha, Kashmiri, Rajasthani, Sindhi and Persian — as well as the rich tradition of raag-based Hindustani music, the musicians seek to create an evening that centers expression for shared human experiences across borders and advocates for change in a world increasingly rife with sectarian, authoritarian, and extremist violence. By imbuing these traditions with modern political and aesthetic sensibilities — they hope to defamiliarize them while remaining legible to diasporic audiences of all generations.

Apoorva Mudgal is an Agra (North India) born Hindustani singer and composer currently based in Brooklyn (NY). Her serene vocals steeped in longing, and often minimally arranged to stringed instruments like the classical guitar and Kora (African Harp), make for transcendental performances of the Urdu Ghazal, Hindavi folk and Punjabi Sufi Kalaam.
Ria Modak is an Indian-American guitarist and composer whoe compositional voice and approach to the instrument is grounded in Hindustani music, flamenco and classical guitar. Currently a PhD student in History at Brown University, her research focuses on the role of film, folk, classical and other musics in creating and subverting national identity in South Asia.
Taught kora by his grandfather, Yacouba Sissoko comes from a family line of Malian musicians dating back centuries. He has modernized the kora sound collaborating with contemporary music greats such as Harry Belafonte, Lauryn Hill and Paul Simon.

More information and registration available here. Please contact Julian Bennett Holmes (jbh2170@columbia.edu) with any questions.