One Hundred Strings
is a collaboration between musicians Nirmala Rajasekar, Sandip Chatterjee,
Thanjavur K. Murugaboopathi, and Ramdas Palsule that highlights the diversity
of music and culture within India and fosters cultural connections within the
South Asian diaspora of the United States. The four musicians each comes from a
different ethnic region of India and plays a distinct regional instrument. These instruments include the veena, an
ancient plucked lute central to the Carnatic classical tradition of South
India; the santoor, the hammered dulcimer of the Silk Road trade routes between
Europe and Asia; the mridangam, an indigenous drum of the Southern Indian
peninsula; and the tabla, a drum born of cultural exchange between Persian and
Sanskrit cultures in Mughal India.of t
he
American Composers
Four master musicians – Nirmala
Rajasekar (veena), Sandip Chatterjee (santoor), Thanjavur K. Murugaboopathi (mridangam), and Ramdas Palsule (tabla) – come together to create the One Hundred Strings
collaboration, representing the Hindustani, Carnatic, cross-cultural, and
indigenous traditions of South Asia. With a combined 150 years of performing
experience, the artists bring a wealth of musicological, historical, and
cultural knowledge to this unique collaboration of veena, santoor, tabla, and
mridangam. Between them the artists have appeared at Carnegie Hall, the United
Nations (New York), Royal Albert Hall (UK), the Rumi International Festival (Turkey),
Theater de la Ville, Sydney Opera House (Australia), and Sawai Gandharva
(India).
Since immigrating to the U.S. 30 years ago, Nirmala Rajasekar has been using the veena, the national instrument of India, to
advocate for the representation of non-Western artists in art, cultural, and
organizing institutions. Nirmala Rajasekar has served as Chairperson of the
American Composers Forum since 2020 and has worked with a wide variety
international poets, dancers, and other artists of all mediums.
