Transcendence
WONDERFUL INDIA FESTIVAL
WEEK FOUR: April 22 – 28, 2024
Re-imagine the future of humanity through the spiritual and intellectual teachings of India’s artistic and cultural traditions.
Featuring lectures and discussions on Indian spirituality and intellectual thought, workshops on Indian arts, music, and dance traditions, and transcendental performances by local artists.
Thursday, April 25, 2024
5pm to 8pm, GALLERY Hall
Open Gallery Hours
Enjoy the gallery at Wonderful India Festival, a month-long exhibition and celebration of the artistic and cultural wonders of India through art, music, dance, and cultural performances.
Allow yourself to be captivated by artwork from local visual artists and performances by dancers and groups showcasing India’s artistic and cultural traditions. Stay for the music performance that starts at 6p and the guided meditation session that starts at 7p.
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Open Gallery hours are free and open to the public, with a suggested pay-what-you-can donation of $10 per person.
Venue Details: 3806 Cherrywood Rd, Austin, TX 78722
Parking: Free parking available streetside and in Maplewood Elementary School lot at 3809 Maplewood Ave.
6p to 7p, GALLERY HALL
Indian Classical Music Experience
Triveni
An eclectic, classical music experience that combines vocal, dance, and percussion forms of Indian music. The program highlights each musician’s unique artistry through solo performances, and culminates in two unique creative collaborations.
Presented by The Kotasthanes:
Sameer, a versatile musician employs various genres of music such as tarana, and bhajan to express the musical styles of legendary vocalists Ustad Amir Khan, Pt. Bhimsen Joshi, and Pt. Kumar Gandharva.
Alap, a young tabla player performs complex compositions set to a variety of rhythmic cycles (7 beats, 12 beats, 16 beats) invoking the distinctive styles of Ustad Keramatullah Khan, Ustad Alla Rakha, and his own guru, Pandit Gourisankar.
Arohi, a young classical dancer showcases the elegant North Indian dance form, Kathak through intricate footwork, and graceful movement.
The three artists will combine vocal music, percussion and dance in two renditions, one showcasing powerful, complex patterns, and the other depicting the love between a playful, young Lord Krishna and his mother Yashoda.
RSVP required to attend, with pay-what-you-can donations accepted to support additional and ongoing programs celebrating the work of local artists specializing in Indian arts, music, and cultural traditions. Please reserve free tickets for community members who cannot afford to attend otherwise.
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Over 25 years, Sameer Kotasthane has immersed himself in Indian classical vocal music, guided by luminaries like Pt. Vijay Koparkar, Dr. Ram Deshpande, and Mrs. Sangeeta Pandharpurkar. Their teachings introduced him to legends like Ustad Amir Khan, Pt. Bhimsen Joshi, Pt. Kumar Gandharva, and Pt. Jitendra Abhisheki, profoundly influencing his vocal style. He’s received the National Cultural Talent Scholarship and garnered numerous awards in India. His performances have aired on All India Radio and National Television. As an educator, he’s conducted lecture demonstrations for several Central Texas organizations, and taught more than fifty students in Austin, nurturing the next generation of musicians. Collaborating with world-renowned musicians in the ‘World Music Unleashed’ ensemble has been enriching, while accompanying distinguished artists like Dr. Prabha Atre and Pt. Ajay Pohankar has been a great blessing.
7p to 8:30p, GALLERY HALL
Lecture and Guided Meditation
Tantra- Myth vs. Reality
Tantra- Myth vs. Reality: A Guided Introduction to Tantra Yoga
Over the years, tantra has been subjected to deep mis-translation and misrepresentation and has been presented as Tantric sex or as a ritualistic practice in the West. In this seminar we seek to dispel these myths and misconceptions around Tantra and present practical spiritual science of Tantra and how the path of Nivrtti Marga or Vidya Tantra brings about deep inner spiritual realization and helps to develop a sentient individual and society.
The talk will conclude with a guided spiritual music and meditation session by the yogis and provide a practical glimpse into Tantra Yoga.
RSVP required to attend, with pay-what-you-can donations accepted to support additional and ongoing programs celebrating the work of local artists specializing in Indian arts, music, and cultural traditions. Please reserve free tickets for community members who cannot afford to attend otherwise.
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More About Tantra
Tantra is a spiritual tradition which originated in the Indian Subcontinent in pre-historic times and subsequently systematized. Tantra emphasizes the development of human vigor both through the system of meditation and through facing difficult external situations to overcome all fears and weaknesses. Tantric spiritual practice consists of three qualitative stages that can be fused into one or remain separate: Shakta, Vaeshnaviiya, Shaeva. Shakta represents the determination to awaken the cognitive faculties of the mind to overcome physical ailments, psychic disorders, and social evils in the surrounding social environment. In the vaeshnaviiya stage the sadhaka remains absorbed in the desire to be one with the all pervading cosmic consciousness and in the Shaeva stage the sadhaka experiences a state of non-dual existence with the cosmic consciousness. Tantric spiritual practice is a combination of these three stages and consists of the process of raising the kundalini using the repetition of Mantra with a proper understanding of the essence of the spiritual practice.
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About the Presenters
Dada Nabhaniilananda, is a Tantra yogi, a meditation instructor, an author, a keynote speaker and a musician. Born in New Zealand, he was ordained as a yoga monk in India in 1979 and has been teaching meditation for 40 years. His book on meditation has been translated into twelve languages and is a standard text for meditation teachers all over the world. In addition to writing both fiction and non-fiction books, Dada has won several international song-writing awards, recorded eight musical albums and performed and spoken in more than forty countries, including playing to more than 10,000 people at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit where he appeared onstage with the Dalai Lama. Dada now lives in Silicon Valley, California, where he teaches courses and workshops at UC Berkeley, Apple, NVIDIA, Google, CISCO, Lam Research Intel and Facebook. Dada has also widely presented on the topic of AI and the Mind in the Silicon Valley.
Acarya Dhyanesh, got his Bachelor of Landscape Architecture degree specializing in Eco-Village design. During his student days, Acarya Dhyanesh studied Kriya yoga (SRF), Kripalu Yoga, Integral Yoga, Tibetan Tantric Yoga, Kundalini yoga, and with the Hopi till he found his guru Shrii Shrii Anandamurti. Dhyaneshji married Jamuna in Kolkata in 1984 and has three children. Since then, Dhyaneshji has been balancing family life, landscape architecture company Oasis Gardens and Tantra Yoga practices. Dhyanesh started the University Yoga Club at University Of Texas, Austin and has been teaching every week from 1984 with over 7,000 students having participated in his Yoga classes. Ac. Dhyanesh also built and managed a 10 acre urban farm with student cooperatives and 30 family membership with an amphitheater for humanitarian relief benefit concerts from 1997-2012. He also built a 3 acre eco-solar envelope homestead for seminars and collective meditation. In the last 35 years, Ac. Dhyanesh has helped design 20 Yoga Meditation Eco-Villages in California, New York, North Carolina, India, Russia, Phillipines, Italia, Brazil, Mexico, Portugal, and Denmark. He also graduated from Tatvika training in Benares, India in 2002 and received his Tantra Acarya training in Puri, India in 2008.
Friday, April 26, 2024
5pm to 8pm, GALLERY Hall
Open Gallery Hours
Enjoy the gallery at Wonderful India Festival, a month-long exhibition and celebration of the artistic and cultural wonders of India through art, music, dance, and cultural performances.
Allow yourself to be captivated by artwork from local visual artists, and stay for the presentations that begin at 6p.
______________
Open Gallery hours are free and open to the public, with a suggested pay-what-you-can donation of $10 per person.
Venue Details: 3806 Cherrywood Rd, Austin, TX 78722
Parking: Free parking available streetside and in Maplewood Elementary School lot at 3809 Maplewood Ave.
6P TO 8P, COMMUNITY HALL
Teen Night
Spirituality & Wellbeing Through the Arts
An engaging exploration on how arts, music, and dance can be used to support individual spiritual pursuits and overall well-being, presented by Tara Srinivasan (bharatanatyam dancer) and Nilesh Goswami (visual artist). Through engaging presentations geared specifically for their fellow teens, these young artist presenters will share their revelations about the positive benefits of the arts through hands-on demonstrations, live art-making, and interactive discussions.
All are welcome to attend, especially teens interested in learning more about the arts and holistic wellbeing overall, as well as young individuals interested in learning more about India’s art, dance, and music traditions specifically. Teen-friendly snacks will be available.
Parents:
Parents can remain onsite to observe the teen session or attend the adult session in the Gallery Hall next door at the same time. The evening will conclude with group kirtan singing led by members of Round Rock ISKCON in the Gallery Hall.
RSVP required to attend, with suggested pay-what-you-can donation to support additional and ongoing programs celebrating the work of local artists specializing in Indian arts, music, and cultural traditions.
Please reserve free tickets for community members who cannot afford to attend otherwise.
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Schedule
6:00p: Bharatanatyam As a Path to Wellbeing, presented by Tara Srinivasan
7:00p: Spirituality through Art and Creative Expression, presented by Nilesh Goswami
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About the Speakers
Tara Srinivasan, a Westlake High School freshman, has studied Bharatanatyam for a decade under the tutelage of Smt. Vidhya Mani. She completed her Arangetram at the Dell Performing Arts Center and was then invited to perform at Guruvayoor temple in Kerala. With 7+ years of diverse dance training in ballet, jazz, contemporary and hip-hop at Alisa’s Dance Academy and as a member of Austin Dance Elite, she was recently selected as a member of Westlake High School’s award-winning dance drill team – Hyline. Tara has mentored young dancers and conducted free camps in Austin and India. Beyond dance, she climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro, and inspired by the efforts of the African community around Kilimanjaro, Tara embarked on a project to raise funds and supplies for them to help make a positive impact on their lives. Tara exudes a passion for both artistry and altruism, embodying a multifaceted personality.
Nilesh Goswami is a visual artist whose main goal is to understand the supreme truth through art as process. He is a self-taught artist, and his medium is currently digital art. With his father’s guidance, he started exploring art long before he can recall and has been doing it ever since. His most influential teachers and inspirations have been great musicians and composers, such as Thyagaraja, Andal, Surdas, and classical singers including M.S. Subbulakshmi, Vidushi Ashwini Bhide Deshpande, Prabha Atre, along with many others. The aim of his artwork is to reveal the deeper connection between all art forms, especially between visual art, singing, and dancing, and how all of these work together to reveal the Supreme Truth.
Saturday, April 27, 2024
1P TO 2p, COMMUNITY HALL
Lecture and Discussion
What India Can Teach the World
What India Can Teach the World: Ten Big Ideas from Indian Philosophy
How would the world look if seen through the conceptual framework of Indian philosophy? While a lot of studies focus on the contribution of Indian philosophical traditions in the past, Sunil Vasisht asks what might be their future contributions.
Join us for an engaging lecture and discussion session examining how frameworks and ideas from Indian philosophy might contribute to the future progress of human
RSVP required to attend, with suggested pay-what-you-can donation to support additional and ongoing programs celebrating the work of local artists specializing in Indian arts, music, and cultural traditions. Please reserve free tickets for community members who cannot afford to attend otherwise.
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Sunil Vasisht is an entrepreneur who has built two healthcare startups in the Houston area. He has had a series of leadership roles at Hewlett Packard Company, where he honed his skills in driving innovation and leading teams to success. Sunil’s academic background includes a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering and an MBA, providing him with a solid foundation in both technology and business.
Beyond his professional endeavors, Sunil is actively engaged in community service. He has dedicated over 18 years to teaching Vedanta, an ancient Indian philosophy, to groups in The Woodlands, Texas. His commitment to education and personal growth is further exemplified by his leadership of a study group that recently celebrated completing 12 years of continuous Bhagavad Gita study. Sunil also brings together thought leaders and entrepreneurs annually to discuss the influence of the Gita on their personal and professional lives.
As a respected speaker, Sunil shares his expertise in healthcare at prominent conferences nationwide, contributing to the industry’s discourse on innovation and patient care.
2P to 3P, GALLERY HALL
Panel Discussion
Artificial Intelligence, The Mind, and Art and Aesthetics
A panel discussion drawing comparisons between Artificial Intelligence and the Human Mind, addressing perspectives on art and aesthetics and the impact of AI on human art. The speakers will highlight perspectives from the Bharatya Natyashastra, an ancient Indian treatise on art and aesthetics that describes thirty-three expressions of human emotions. They will address important talking points from discussions on the role of AI Quality to safeguard human art using emerging AI based technologies.
The speakers bring expertise in various fields from their working experience at leading firms such as IBM, Google, Deloitte and academic publications in the field of AI in addition to deep experience with Sanskrit, Yogic Psychology, and Performing Arts.
RSVP required to attend. This is a free event with pay-what-you-can donations accepted to support additional and ongoing programs celebrating the work of local artists specializing in Indian arts, music, and cultural traditions. Please reserve free tickets for community members who cannot afford to attend otherwise.
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About the Panelists
Arunkumar Akkineni is an Austin based technologist who works in the field of Artificial Intelligence as an engineer and researcher. Arun currently serves as a Data Science Manager at Deloitte. Arun is also the first author on the confernce paper on “AI Quality and MLOPs” published in Intelligent Systems Design and Applications – 22nd International Conference on Intelligent Systems Design and Applications (ISDA 2022) Held December 12-14, 2022 – Volume 4. Volume 717 of Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems, pages 436-448, Springer, 2022. Arun brings a unique background in the intersection of “Artificial Intelligence and engineering AI for its safe and reliable usage”, Business, “Indian Knowledge Systems and its applications” and is deeply passionate about AI and its impact on Art, Indic Education, Aesthetics and Entrepreneurship. Arun brings with him a unique educational background having received a variety of degrees in Computer Science, Chemical Engineering, Business Management from the University of Texas At Austin and Georgetown University (Washington D.C.).
Dada Nabhaniilananda, is a Tantra yogi, a meditation instructor, an author, a keynote speaker and a musician. Born in New Zealand, he was ordained as a yoga monk in India in 1979 and has been teaching meditation for 40 years. His book on meditation has been translated into twelve languages and is a standard text for meditation teachers all over the world. In addition to writing both fiction and non-fiction books, Dada has won several international song-writing awards, recorded eight musical albums and performed and spoken in more than forty countries, including playing to more than 10,000 people at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit where he appeared onstage with the Dalai Lama. Dada now lives in Silicon Valley, California, where he teaches courses and workshops at UC Berkeley, Apple, NVIDIA, Google, CISCO, Lam Research Intel and Facebook. Dada has also widely presented on the topic of AI and the Mind in the Silicon Valley.
Srini Raghavan, a senior technologist by profession, brings in a unique blend of engineering expertise, leadership and artistic sensibilities. He leverages a background in an entrepreneurial neuroscience startup, AI, theater arts and filmmaking( writing, direction, acting) and won several awards. Holding a Computer Engineering degree and a Master of Arts in Sanskrit Studies (majoring in Arts and Philosophy), Srini Raghavan demonstrates a lifelong commitment to learning and cultural exploration. He also serves on the board of Austin City Council. His passion for preserving ancient languages is further exemplified by serving as Education Director and volunteer teacher at Samskrita Bharati, an organization dedicated to reviving spoken Sanskrit. Srini has also served as lecturer at The University of Texas, Austin and taught Kannada language.
3pm to 8pm, GALLERY HALL
Open Gallery Hours
Enjoy the gallery at Wonderful India Festival, a month-long exhibition and celebration of the artistic and cultural wonders of India through art, music, dance, and cultural performances.
Allow yourself to be captivated by artwork from local visual artists. Stay for the music and dance performances that start at 4p!
______________
Open Gallery hours are free and open to the public, with a suggested pay-what-you-can donation of $10 per person.
Venue Details: 3806 Cherrywood Rd, Austin, TX 78722
Parking: Free parking available streetside and in Maplewood Elementary School lot at 3809 Maplewood Ave.
4pm to 8pm, Gallery Hall
Indian Music and Dance Showcase
Saturday evening features captivating performances by local musicians and dancers specializing in different classical art forms from India. Enjoy individual and group performances of Carnatic music, Hindustani music, bharatanatyam dance, kuchipudi dance, kathak dance, and more.
RSVP required to attend. This is a free event with pay-what-you-can donations accepted to support additional and ongoing programs celebrating the work of local artists specializing in Indian arts, music, and cultural traditions.
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About the Performers
Details about the Lineup Coming Soon