To everyone who became a stakeholder in the art form, with your presence, investment, and joy, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your stewardship. With the blessings of Guru Purnima, the evening unfolded as one of rare artistic integrity, an offering steeped in lineage, devotion, and the unspoken intimacy between musician and listener.
At its heart stood Ustad Alam Khan, Sarod virtuoso and Khalifa of the Senia-Maihar Gharana, whose every note conveyed a depth of emotion that transcended the temporal. His playing was the sonic prayer he has so often spoken of, an invocation, an act of reverence drawn from the well of ancestral memory and artistic devotion.
The refined and masterful Eman Hashimi, son of Toryalai Hashimi and disciple of Sri Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri ji, answered with rhythmic clarity and grace, engaging in a dialogue of spirit and precision. Together, they held the audience in a state of collective suspension, where time seemed to dissolve into raga and elevated urja.
Silent yet sacred was the presence of Ustad Ali Akbar Khan Sahib’s own tanpura, dating back to the 1960s, brought from California by his devoted disciple David Trasoff.
The atmosphere in the full house of emotionally invested attendees was one of hushed reverence. Many spoke afterwards of being nourished, stilled, and profoundly moved. Some described the evening as “a return to something sacred within”. Others simply offered, “This was love, made audible.” Many were visibly processing their own emotional waves—tears flowed freely, held in shared silence.
Partners made Khan concert possible
Ragas That Colour the Mind was presented by Surrey Civic Theatres and Indian Summer Festival, along with an expanded collective of community champions brought together as part of the larger Culture of Cohesion model of engagement, an approach that has long been advocated and nurtured into seeding and working towards being with the support of CAPACOA.
A heartfelt thank you to Surrey Civic Theatres and Indian Summer Festival for embracing my proposal and coming together as invested co-presenters, with care and intent.
I feel deeply privileged to have served as a cultural cupid, drawing together kindred energies, shared values, and artistic vision into one cohesive offering. Deep gratitude as well to our promotional partners: Spice Radio, ICMSV, and Sarāhang Entertainment. A special thank you to Kamal Sharma – KVP Heritage, Pandit Jasraj School of Music Vancouver, Taranga School of Music, Indo-Africa Charity, and Tatkaar BC, for amplifying the output with your unconditional dedication. Thank you to you all for your trust in realizing this catalytic, together-led approach that honours our elders while inspiring future generations.
To have mastery-level artists leave our lands with full hearts and a sincere wish to return is among the highest compliments we can receive as a community. And to all of you who attended ‘Ragas That Colour the Mind’, I am pleased to say: you have gifted our community this honour.
This coming together is a reflection of our shared commitment to reframing classical and heritage arts as inclusive, resonant, and viable, paving the way for continual and consistent programmatic achievements that are essential, not peripheral.
CHAI | July Gathering – Future Forward
In recent days, many of you have written to ask how you may invest in this kind of work, how we might build a culture that sustains such a league of excellence, not as a rare occurrence, but as a continuous thread woven through our creative ecosystems.
To you, I extend a heartfelt invitation to gather again, this time, in an intentional and activated shared vision called the Classical and Heritage Arts Initiative, CHAI.
Date: Friday, July 25, 2025 | 8:00 AM PST | 11:00 AM EST | 4:00 PM BST | 8:30 PM IST
The Classical and Heritage Arts Initiative exists to ensure that this field does not merely survive, but flourishes. Future Forward is our next national convening, a space where presenters, touring artists, festival leads, curators, and cultural networks come together to:
• Deepen strategies for collaborative touring and cost-sharing across Canada
• Increase access to mastery-level international artists
• Embed heritage arts meaningfully within season programming frameworks
• Build equitable, long-term models of engagement and artistic exchange
This gathering is a rare opportunity to shift from isolated efforts toward a national touring ecology rooted in excellence, intentionality, and cultural integrity.
For artists, this is an open door to visibility, insight, and future pathways. For presenters, it is an opportunity to engage early with next-generation and international artists poised to reshape the Canadian arts landscape with authenticity.
Let us honour what we experienced in Ragas That Colour the Mind—not as a fleeting event, but as a catalyst. Together, we carry this resonance forward.
More information
Nina Buddhdev is a B.C.-based cultural arts strategist, visual artist, and heritage arts activist. She founded the Bandish Network in 2009. To connect with Nina via the Arts BC Insight Team, please visit: https://artsbc.org/insight-
