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Making Indian Classical Cool
The Indian Raga journey
Speakers
IndianRaga is the largest platform for Indian performing arts globally, with operations in more than 40 cities and 7 countries. It has the largest following on social media for India’s classical and contemporary arts, with over 700 videos viewed by more than 100 million audiences across 65 countries. With an average audience age of 25, IndianRaga’s social media channels are one of the most engaging platforms for Indian performing arts, introducing audiences young and old to an exciting world of art and collaboration. IndianRaga has been featured by iconic brands like United Nations, World Government Summit, TEDx, TimesGroup, Lincoln Center, Chicago Cultural Center, MIT, NPR, Bank of Tokyo, KPMG etc.
In conversation with Sadhana Rao, Sriram Emani and Mahesh Raghvan share and discuss the Indian Raga journey so far – how the IndianRaga Fellows are handpicked, the rigorous and transparent screening process, the guidance and mentoring process to produce world-class artists and the road ahead for IndianRaga.
Speakers
Sriram Emani
Sriram Emani is the Founder and CEO of IndianRaga, which he founded when he was a student at MIT. He is a 2015 Global Fellow with the International Society for the Performing Arts (ISPA), where he was the only Indian out of 52 Fellows from across the world. Under his leadership, IndianRaga has grown into one of the largest networks of talented musicians and dancers globally, invited to perform at iconic platforms like HowdyModi (For both President Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi), United Nations General Assembly, World Government Summit, among others. Previously, Sriram worked as a Strategy Fellow with the President of Lincoln Center, New York City, and with the President of Global Digital Business at Sony Music, New York City. He also started the marketing and business development team at the National Center for the Performing Arts (NCPA) in Mumbai, and was a Consultant to Disney Theatrical Group.
Sriram was selected amongst the first batch of 12 Tata Fellows at the MIT Tata Center for Technology and Design. He is an alumnus of the MIT Sloan School of Management (Class of 2014) where he was 1 out of 5 students to be awarded the prestigious Siebel Scholarship for academic excellence and leadership. Sriram is also an alumnus of the IIT Bombay, where he was the recipient of the institute’s highest honors for leadership and cultural excellence. He recently spoke at TEDx Chennai on how Classical can go Viral. Sriram is based in Boston, but spends most of his time in flights.
Mahesh Raghvan
Sadhana Rao
Sadhana is a research-led writer and curator in the Arts & Culture area. She has written on Travel, Socio-Economics, Literature, Film festivals & Music for leading newspapers and Journals such as The Hindu, The Economic Times, Deccan Chronicle, Tehelka, Housecalls, Shruti among others.
As a curator of Music & Arts Intelligence segments at conferences, Sadhana has worked with artists across music genres from Western Classical ensembles to Hindustani & Carnatic Classical performers to weave narrative backed lecture demonstrations that break down fundamental elements of music. She has curated Music & Arts segments at Think Fest, EO Summits, Corporate Annual Offsites etc.
She built a three-day Academic conclave “Universe of Sound” covering Melody, Rhythm & Harmony where music pedagogy was shared in performances featuring India’s most followed artists in Music & Dance.
Continuing her volunteering at SPIC MACAY (Society for the Promotion of Indian Classical Music and Culture Amongst Youth), since her days at Miranda House and Delhi School of Social Work she has participated in a number of programs that have taken Gurus and Masters in the Arts to intersect with students in schools and colleges.
As a passionate believer in the concept that art knows no hierarchies, Sadhana Rao, a Music & Arts Education entrepreneur, co-Founded Art Links Learning, which over seven years had developed its own pedagogy and delivery methodology leveraging the alchemy of Teachers and Technology to drive specific Learning Outcomes through a combination of teacher training systems and teaching aids, learning delivery plans, assessment processes, and an evolving curriculum that suits age and context appropriate Music & Arts intelligence.
A Masters in Social Work from Delhi University she honed her research, consulting and execution skills at the Administrative Staff College of India.
Living in Bangalore she continues to be a student of the Arts.
