MUMBAI: A very special musical  evening was organized  by India’s premier diversified and transnational conglomerate, the Hinduja Group, in Mumbai yesterday, when Mrs. Harsha and Mr Ashok P Hinduja, Chairman, Hinduja Group of Companies (India), played hosts to the renowned Berklee College of Music. The evening was in celebration of  Berklee India Exchange Program initiatives like  the announcement of the first Berklee-A R Rahman Scholarship recipients to study at the Berklee College of Music in Boston.  

An evening of entertaining live musical performances and another guided, meditatively immersive music-driven session were highlights of the glittering evening where Berklee College of Music President Roger H Brown and his wife, Linda Mason were present. A host of celebrities from music and films, including Oscar-winning music composer A R Rahman, Bollywood music director Anu Malik, ace drummer Ranjit Barot, Clinton Cerejo, Gino Banks, Shraddha Pandit, Deepti Bhatnagar, Anup Jalota, Raju Singh along with his young drummer son Joshua. Several other maestros like Ustad Bhawani Shankar, renowned Sufi singer Ustad Zila Khan and Flautist Rakesh Chaurasiya, also graced the occasion.

The audience was enthralled by riveting musical experiences – a live performance from Berklee Teaching Faculty Livingston Taylor, and an immersive meditative spiritual musical experience by Satya Hinduja.

The host of the evening, Ashok P Hinduja, said, “It is indeed a pleasure and an honour to host a Berklee College of Music program. Music is an integral part of life in India, and Indian music has tremendous global appeal. The Berklee India Exchange will foster a collaborative synthesis of Indian and global music and will connect students of all nationalities with acclaimed musicians in the Indian entertainment industry. I really appreciate initiatives like the Berklee India Exchange Program and the Berklee-A R Rahman scholarships. Many more such programs will come in, and India will get more opportunities. As a responsible global Indian conglomerate, we would be delighted to participate in and facilitate such a celebration of Indian music. In fact, the Hinduja Foundation is in talks with Berklee, and we look forward to the possibilities.”

Berklee College of Music President Roger H Brown, said, “Thank you so much Mr Ashok Hinduja for having the Berklee College of Music here in India. Last year was fantastic and this year looks that it will get even better. We feel honored to be here because every time we are here in India, the Hindujas always invite some of the greatest musicians and carry out a musical spectacle for all of us.”

The first musical performance of the evening was by Livingston Taylor, performer and songwriter well known for his Top-40 hits “I will be in love with you” and “I’ll come running to you”. Taylor is also a full-time professor at Berklee College of Music and teaches the ‘Stage performance’ course since 1989. He has also authored a book called ‘Stage Performance’ which was released in 2011. He kept the audience riveted with his eclectic mix of songs.

While Livingston Taylor’s was a live rendition of several of his popular songs, what followed next became the talk and, indeed, unique experience of the evening for everyone. This was by Satya Hinduja, daughter of Ashok P Hinduja and an alumnus of Berklee College of Music. Influenced by the music of her homeland, Satya has developed a sound that is truly unique.

Satya guided her rapt, attentive audiences through two half-hour immersive, meditative sessions of her patented Alchemic Sonic Environment, which uses music and sound at scientifically and creatively set frequencies to provide an immersive nomadic spatial sound experience catering to all of the body’s senses. She guided the audience along a brief journey that many said later soothed the soul, energized their being and rebalanced their inner self on both, a physical and spiritual level.

Satya Hinduja’s beginnings are seeded into the rich heritage of India’s west coast, sprouting and taking root in Mumbai’s thriving Bollywood scene, earning her a solid foundation and respect for music on a technical level. The 12 years that followed saw a great transformation in Satya, not only as a musical artist, but at an even deeper spiritual level. The journey has seen her go from scoring Indian films to collaborating with global contemporary artists and musicians, to underground DJ. Whatever medium she presents, within lies a message for the soul.