The Embassy of the Netherlands hosts an Indo-Dutch concert titled ‘Connecting Pathways’

The Embassy of Netherlands recently organised an online concert titled ‘Connecting Pathways’ in collaboration with Serendipity Arts, Strings of the World, and boxout.fm in its continuing effort to boost the cultural ties between the Netherlands and India. As part of ‘Connecting Pathways,’ three musicians from the Netherlands and three musicians from India came together to perform five songs.

All through the pandemic, music has continued to play an important role in keeping the spirits high. International collaborations between artists such as ‘Connecting Pathways’ have been instrumental in uniting humanity during these difficult times.

The Indian lineup included the noted violinist Sharat Chandra Srivastava who has been collaborating with Dutch musicians for the last two decades and has performed in the Netherlands multiple times. Sharat was joined by the Mridangam maestro M V Chandrashekar, and the noted sitar player Fateh Ali Khan.

The Dutch lineup included noted pianist Rembrandt Frerichs, renowned cellist Maya Fridman, and the celebrated tabla player and composer Heiko Dijker who is well known for his collaborative works with leading Indian musicians over the last couple of decades.

The theme of the composition titled ‘Glistering Waves’ is gratitude. It’s about the Covid-19 pandemic and is in the memory of those lost during the last two years. The piece ‘Garden Lounge’ is about the importance of healing. Even though we have progressed technologically, the world has seen a lot of mental and emotional pain in the last few decades.

Healing is perhaps more necessary for the world now than anything else. The song ‘Flying Beyond’ is about going deeper and further into our consciousness, using music as the path. ‘Binnen zonder kloppen’ (which translates as ‘Enter without knocking on the door’) celebrates solidarity between the people of India and the Netherlands. The piece ‘Pahadi Soul’ is a meditation song. As part of the online concert, the welcome address was delivered by Anneke Adema, Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of the Netherlands in India.

“'Connecting Pathways’ is a beautiful concert featuring collaboration between Indian and Dutch musicians. This is a very unique collaboration under Strings of the World where we are jamming and creating new music with our fellow musicians from the Netherlands,” said Sarat Chandra Srivastava. Speaking about the concert, Heiko Dijker added, “It’s indeed heartening that during these difficult and challenging times we have still managed to collaborate internationally on such a beautiful project. It’s really wonderful to be collaborating with some of the greatest musicians from the Netherlands and India."