Rasa & Raga: The Universal Emotions of Indian Classical Music

Enjoy an afternoon concert of Indian classical music performed by the Apoorvaa Deshpande Collective. Vocalist Apoorvaa Deshpande will be accompanied by Vishan Menon on tabla, Chirag Dixit on sarangi and Tejas Zodge on keyboards.

The human experience is rooted in emotions such as happiness, sorrow, love, wonder and peace. Around 2,000 years ago, the revered Indian sage Bharat Muni pioneered the framework of universal emotions and aesthetic flavors in his celebrated treatise Bharat Natya Shastra (The Fundamentals of Performance). This treatise has laid the foundation for all Indian performing arts and literature for centuries to come. Music is often regarded as the universal language to express any emotion and any human experience.

In this concert, we invite you on a unique journey of Bharat’s universal rasas (emotions) as expressed through the powerful soundscapes of Indian classical music. Vocalist Apoorvaa Deshpande will also describe the rich history of Indian classical music and savor each rasa through a different Raga (musical scale) and an eclectically paired bandish (composition).

This program is made possible by the generous support of the Friends of the Mountain View Library