In a collaborative effort by Grand Valley State University’s area studies department, GVSU is hosting an evening of classical Indian music and dance.

Pandit Shantanu Bhattacharyya and Smt. Durba Bhattacharyya, accompanied by Subhajyoti Guha, will be performing on Sunday at 6 p.m. in the Loosemoore Auditorium on GVSU’s Pew Campus.

The event is presented by the Brooks College of Interdisciplinary Studies and area studies, East Asian studies, department of music, department of history, the college of liberal arts and sciences, department of liberal studies, the school of communications, the Frederik Meijer Honors College and the West Michigan Bengali Cultural Association.

Kathak, one of the eight forms of classical Indian dance, will begin the evening. The dance will be performed by Smita Chandra, who lives in the Grand Rapids area.

Vandana Pednekar-Magal, professor in the School of Communications said this is a unique opportunity to experience classical Indian music.

The performers are currently touring the U.S. and Canada and will only be in Grand Rapids for one night.

“(We) are fortunate to listen to his music and that he agreed to come to Grand Valley,” Magal said.

They will be performing Hindustani music, a form of traditional Indian music, a “genre” of Indian music.

Magal said that this music is learned through the mentor-prodigy tradition and is learned from childhood.

“This is a rare opportunity for them to listen to some excellent music,” Magal said. “It’s best when you listen to it live and to hear the progression from one Raga to another Raga and to hear the renditions of Ragas—the tempo is built and you can enjoy the progress.”

Steeve Buckridge, professor in the international area studies department said he hopes for the event to be a huge success.

“I hope students and members of the community will have a great time and enjoy this,” Buckridge said.

Buckridge said he hopes that his event will continue with the internationalization of campus, and to expose students to classical Indian music and dance.

“This is a very rare opportunity,” Buckridge said. “It is not often we have a famous musician and singer from India to perform at GVSU. This is a great opportunity for students to learn about a specific type of music from an amazing culture”

For more information about this event, go to www.gvsu.edu/areastudies.

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