ChaiTimeRadio

In this Chaitime, we talk with Shobhit Mathur of Vision India Foundation(https://www.visionindiafoundation.com) and Jayant Somani, and Ojas Somani of Sewa International(https://www.sewausa.org).

Shobhit Mathur is the co-founder and Executive Director at Vision India Foundation. He is an alumnus of IIT Bombay, University of Washington and Indian School of Business. Shobhit has previously worked with Amazon.com and Youth For Seva. He has a decade of full-time experience in the social and public sector.

Jayant Somani is the President of the Sewa Bay Area Executive Committee. Jayant is a semiconductor industry executive and holds a Master degree in Technology Management from the University of Pennsylvania. Ojas Somani is a youth volunteer with Sewa.

Vision India Foundation is a non-profit initiative by faculty and alumni of various IITs. It is an incubator for aspiring public leaders in India. India has a severe shortage of committed public leaders with a high character. VIF identifies trains and mentors young talent who would want to solve India's most pressing problems using public policy and governance. The goal is to bring about long-term systemic reform in the country by engaging highly motivated and well informed young talent. This approach is already in execution with great success for the past four years. More information about VIF can be found at https://www.visionindiafoundation.com

Sewa International is a Hindu faith-based, humanitarian, nonprofit service organization registered under Internal Revenue Code 501 (c) (3). Sewa specializes in disaster relief and rehabilitation with programs focused on family services; child, tribal and refugee welfare; women empowerment; health; and education. In addition to their work in the US, Sewa has undertaken development projects in Colombia, Guyana, India, Kenya, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. More information about Sewa International is available here: https://www.sewausa.org

In this Chaitime, we talk to composer, producer, vocalist and musician Ram Sampath. Ram Sampath calls himself a musical schizophrenic & there's a good reason for that. At 21, he founded his own Indie label, Mutherfunk Records, through which he released his rock band's self titled album, "Colourblind". He is one of the few Indian composer- producers who has tasted mainstream success outside of Bollywood with his Desi-Pop albums like Shaan's, "Tanha Dil", Sona Mohapatra's self titled debut album, two super successful episodes on Coke Studio @ MTV India. He composed all the songs and music on Aamir Khan's groundbreaking TV show, Satyamev Jayate. He has composed music for over 5000 commercials and has won multiple national & international awards for his advertising work. And of course, he also works in Bollywood! He's done music for movies like Talaash, Khakee, Fukrey, Let's Talk & of course, Delhi Belly.

Ram sampath is currently visiting San Francisco Bay area for his show Ram Sampath Live! on March 10th and 11th. This show is a Mona Khan Company production and is a live music show with Ram Sampath and his band. The show will also be featuring Mona Khan Company dancers.  More details of the show(March 10th and 11th, 2018) can be found here: https://www.monakhancompany.com/ramsampathlive/

In this Chaitime, we talk to Author Amish Tripathi. Amish is described as ‘India’s first literary popstar’ by world-renowned film director Shekhar Kapur, Amish’s unique combination of crackling story-telling, religious symbolism and profound philosophies has turned him into an Indian publishing phenomenon.

Amish is a graduate of IIM-Calcutta and worked for 14 years in the financial services industry before turning to full-time writing. The success of his debut book, The Immortals of Meluha(Book no. 1 of the Shiva Trilogy) pushed him to take writing as full time career. He is passionate about history, mythology, and philosophy, finding beauty and meaning in all world religions.

Amish’s 6 books till now include:  The Immortals of Meluha (2010), The Secret of the Nagas (2011) and The Oath of the Vayuputras (2013), which collectively comprise the Shiva Trilogy, Ram – Scion of Ikshvaku (Book 1 of the Ram Chandra Series) (2015), Sita – Warrior of Mithila (Book 2 of the Ram Chandra Series) (2017), and Immortal India – Young Country, Timeless Civilisation. Immortal India is Amish’s first non-fiction book. His books have been translated into 19 Indian and International languages.

He is currently on a tour of USA to promote his work.

In this Chaitime, we talk to poet and writer Kamal Kishore Rajput. His new song "Meri had ki sarhade maula" was recently launched on Youtube. The song in this video is performed by well-known folk singer Padmashri Prahlad Singh Tipaniya and his group. This interview was recorded in July 2017 when I was introduced to Kamalji during my trip to Luniyakhedi, home of Shri Prahlad Tipaniya, and when Prahladji performed this song for the first time.

Kamalji worked professionally as a scientist in DRDO before his retirement. He now lives in Bangalore and besides writing sufi poetry, he also writes ghazals and bhajans. Many of his poems and ghazals have been performed by well-known artists and released on CD and Youtube video.

In this ChaiTime, we talk to musician Sukhawat Ali Khan about his music and his upcoming show on Saturday, 28 October 2017, 2:00 PM to 5:30 PM at The Center SF 548 Fillmore St, San Francisco, CA 94117, San Francisco, CA.

The program is organized by Kaavya Connections: World Poetry, Literature & Music Meetup group to celebrate its 50th group event.

Sukhawat Ali Khan represents the family lineage of the 600-year old Sham Chaurasia traditional school of music established during the reign of Mughal Emperor Akbar in India. He is trained in classical raga and Sufi Qawwali. He started learning music at the age of seven under his father Ustad Salamat Ali Khan, a legendary Pakistani/Indian vocalist. A San Francisco Bay Area resident, Sukhawat Ali Khan teaches his musical style and performs concerts for dance and world music lovers with his band Baraka Moon. Baraka Moon latest creation Wind horse is available on iTunes and Amazon Music.

For his upcoming event, he will be accompanied by: Gurdeep Hira on Tabla, Swapan Gandhi on Flute, Vivek Anand on Vocals and Brad Murphy on Sound Production

In this Chaitime, we talk to renowned ghazal singer from India, Dr. Roshan Bharti and his disciple, Sunita Narain Mathur.

A well-established name in the ghazal world, Dr. Roshan Bharti hails from the Senia Gharana. He took his training in ghazals under the tutelage of his father Ustad Yasmin Bharti. Dr Roshan Bharti is the grandson of Ustad Jamal Khan sahib, the revered guru of Shri Jagjeet Singh ji and the nephew of Mehndi Hasan Saheb, the great ghazal maestro. Dr. Bharti is a trained classical singer with a doctorate on ghazal queen ‘Begum Akhtar’s life and works’ from the University of Rajasthan. Currently he is imparting his knowledge of music as a professor in the Kota Girls’ college.

Dr. Roshan Bharti is a top grade AIR (All India Radio) and Doordarshan artist and he is also the youngest member of AIR and Doordarshan Audition Board. He has to his credit many great performances in India, Australia, Canada, North America and Bangkok. Roshan has sung with the great ghazal singers of Asia like Ustad Mehndi Hasan, Ustad Ghulam Ali, Shri Jagjeet Singh ji and Abida Parveen. The Times Music has released four of his ghazal albums ‘Ghazal Gold, Daagh, Ehsaas and Shaame Ghazal.

Today, we will take a step back in time to appreciate an icon of his era. A poet of melancholy, spirituality, pain, and divine love - Sahir Ludhiyanvi was a true genius. Each of his songs is a gem and it is impossible to capture his poetry in a one hour show और फ़िर ये sports season है तो मुझे पता भी नहीं था कि show होना है या नहीं तो ये episode वैसा है कि जो दिल में आया कह दिया, जो सुनना चाहा वो सुन लिया types, एकदम impromptu पर साहिर साहब के लिखे गाने हैं, अच्छे ही लगेंगे आपको। समय की पाबंदी की वजह से कुछ बेहतरीन गीत रह गए लेकिन अगली बार...

Kaavad, from Marwar, Rajasthan India, is a storytelling box that storytellers use to tell traditional Indian tales of the Gods, Goddesses, Saints, Local Heroes and Patrons. In this Chaitime interview, we talk to Akshay Gandhi, Project Director of the Kaavad Project(https://www.facebook.com/KaavadProject/). Currently Akshay is visiting USA to bring an inspired collaborative performance work, Kaavad katha – Maya to the US audience. “Kaavad Katha – Maya” is a collaboration between theatre artists, visual artists & illustrators, musicians, a movement artist and a mask maker. A glimpse of Akshay’s performance can be found on here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlMJGlpySW4

This interview was recorded in Berkeley Language Lab and I was joined by UC Berkeley students Mohan Ganesan, Desiree Nayak, and Maya Reddy for the interview.

The music included is composed by Kartik Raman.

In this Chaitime, we talk to Padmashri Prahlad Tipaniya about Kabir’s poetry and its relevance in today’s world. We will also listen to some of the bhajans sung by him and his group in the Malawi folk style from Central India (Madhya Pradesh).

Prahlad Tipaniya combines a powerful singing style with a magnetic ability to connect with his audience. In his current tour of USA he is accompanied by Ashok Tipaniya, Devnarayan Saroliya, Ajay Tipaniya, Vijay Tipaniya, and Dharmendra Tipaniya.

He and his group has recently released a new CD Halke Gaadi Haanko Re. This CD is accompanied by a booklet which contains english translation of all 10 audio tracks included in the CD. More information about this CD can be found by contacting [email protected].

In 1997, Tipaniya started Kabir Smarak Seva Shodh Sansthan in his home in the village of Luniyakhedi. This registered trust organizes an annual event, where thousands come to listen to Kabir’s words through bhajans. This organization also runs a primary school and further plans to include a library of Kabir-related writings and a meditation hall.

More information on Prahlad Tipaniya and other artists who sing Kabir’s poetry can also be found at the http://www.kabirproject.org/.

In this Chaitime, we talk to violinist Ambi Subramaniam, Singer-Songwriter Bindu Subramaniam and Singer Raju Chithambaram of Andaz Creations about their upcoming concert Ek Pyar Ka Naghma Hai on April 8th, 2017. The program features select music from Ambi and Bindu's musical repertoire and violin based Bollywood songs. Details of the concert can be found here: www.indiacc.org/Subramaniaconcert

Ambi and Bindu Subramaniam are children of Indian violin legend L. Subramanium and Padmashri Kavitha Krishnamurthy. Known as the 'new king of Indian classical violin', Ambi has been on stage since the age of seven. His greatest musical influence is his father and guru, the legendary violinist Dr. L. Subramaniam.

Bindu Subramaniam, having been dubbed a third-generation prodigy and an assured young soprano by the press, Bindu is an accomplished songwriter, singer, and pianist. Bindu has performed and recorded alongside artists like Dr. L. Subramaniam, Kavita Krishnamurti, Al Jarreau, George Duke, Stanley Clarke, Billy Cobham, Larry Coryell, Ernie Watts, Corky Siegel, Matthew Santos, Pandit Jasraj, Dr. M. Balamuralikrishna, Pankaj Udhas, Hariharan, and Remo Fernandes.

Together Ambi and Bindu have a band Subramania. Subramania performs contemporary world music by fusing traditional Indian music with elements of pop, rock, and jazz. It has built on a multi generational musical tradition, but with a sound that is distinct, it’s own.

Raju Chithambaram is a lead vocalist in Bay Area band Andaaz Creations. Raju is a student of Mahesh Kale & Pandit Laxmi Ganesh Tewari and has sung with Kavita Krishnamurthy, Sadhana Sargam, and other elite Bollywood artists. Andaaz Creations is the originator of the Bollywood Broadway Musical and has raised over $1M in fundraisers.