Podcast | Invoking the divine through Indian raga with Srivani Jade
The famed Hindustani vocalist talks about the ancient art form and then shows how it’s done.
Sponsors help make Crosscut’s independent nonprofit journalism possible. However, sponsors have no influence over editorial content. To view Crosscut’s editorial independence policy, visit our advertising definitions page .
Award-winning Hindustani vocalist Srivani Jade performs selections Indian raga music at Peninsula College. (David Conklin)
The relationship between music and spirituality spans the globe. Indian ragas are an especially powerful and unique example of this tradition. Thousands of years ago, Hindus envisioned them as manifestations of the divine. While some songs are memorized, the style itself is largely a melodic framework for improvisation.
For the latest Crosscut Talks podcast, we partnered with Centrum, a Port Townsend-based arts organization, to gather musicians and scholars to discuss the history and theory of this music, and to play it.
Award-winning Hindustani vocalist Srivani Jade and professional tabla player Ravi Joseph Albright performed selections with local musician Saikat Ray and sat for conversation with Wes Cecil, professor of English and the humanities at Peninsula College.
