Ali Akbar Khan + Goddess Saraswati + Shiva Vishnu Temple = Bay Area, California

Music in all its forms (I used to play in a rock band in high school), classical, hiphop, alternative, drum n’ bass, pop etc has always been a huge source of inspiration for me.

My name “Sangeetha” means music in Sanskrit/Hindi/Urdu and I’m named after the Hindu Goddess Saraswati (the goddess of wisdom, knowledge, language, music, and all art forms)

I am trained in both forms of Classical Indian Music : Hindustani (North Indian) and Carnatic (South Indian) and three forms of classical Indian dance. All Indian Classical Music and Dance traditions are rooted in worship and are ways to connect to the divine. The father of Hindustani music was a Muslim, the 13th C Sufi poet/musician/scholar Amir Khusrow. The father of Carnatic music was a Hindu, the 16th C saint/poet Purandara Dasa. It takes years of practice and discipline to be an Indian Classical Musician.

All Classical Indian Music Instruments are considered holy/divine in Hindu law, “Veena” the oldest (predating 200 BC) Goddess Saraswati is pictured holding this holy instrument, and is considered an embodiment of the divine or her 🙏🏽🎶🎵

That’s why you will see Veena, Sitar, Rubab, Sarod etc classical musicians holding/cradling/playing their instruments with utmost devotion and love.

Ustad Ali Akbar Khan (Legendary Sarod master) was the first person to bring North Indian Classical Music to the United States establishing the Ali Akbar College of Music in Marin County in 1967. He along with master musicians Pandit Ravi Shankar (Sitar), Pandit Swapan Chaudri (Tabla), and Ustad Zakir Hussain (Tabla) were grand masters showcasing these magnificent ancient art forms to the West.

I grew up listening and enchanted by their music in the Bay Area. There were no divides or lines among Hindus and Muslims. Hindus played with Muslim musicians and vice versa. They played in temples, halls, concert venues etc always together. Music has no religion, it does not divide but brings together diverse communities especially in the classical Indian traditions. The Hindu holidays of Vasant Panchami or Goddess Saraswati Puja and Guru Poornima (holiday to honor your gurus or teachers) is celebrated by both Muslim and Hindu classical musicians. I did not know the difference between a Hindu or Muslim since we were all playing music and celebrating our holidays together :)

Ustad Ali Akbar Khan performed the ground breaking ceremony in 1985 for the Shiva Vishnu Livermore Hindu Temple that my father and his friends built.

Years later Ali Akbar Khan’s son Alam Khan (also a sarod maestro), and I reconnected, with me designing his “Alam Khan” Sarod Logo image in Arabic with his name.

(Alam and I were both babies when the temple was built and did not remember each other! Happy we became friends in our adult years ;)

Alam’s nephew, Ustad’s grandson, got my Sarod image I drew for Alam tattooed on his arm on Vasant Panchami/ Saraswati puja day!!

I am so honored, someone loved my art so much they made it permanent on their body!

I had a chance to visit the Ali Akbar College of Music after many years. I was mesmerized by the beauty of all the vintage album covers from the 60’s/70’s especially the hand written typography, so inspiring!!

Alam’s mom has carefully archived and showcased photographs and recordings of the family’s long history of famed musicians from India. I plan on digging through the archives of the Shiva Vishnu Temple to find pics from 1985 to add to the Khan family’s archives ;)

Goddess Saraswati is the logo of the college. I drew the “Veena” for Vasant Panchami (Saraswati Puja Day) with Urdu Calligraphy. Ustad Ali Akbar Khan is in heaven playing his beautiful music with Goddess Saraswati. I plan on getting my Veena printed in metallic ink and giving it to the Khan family to add to their collection of Saraswati imagery.

Alam, Manik, and Shiraz may Goddess Saraswati’s blessings always be with you and guide you!