Saskia Rao-de Haas

CELLO MAESTRO NEW DELHI

Rao-de Haas is a world-renowned cellist, composer, cultural entrepreneur, and educationalist from the Netherlands. Following her initial training in her home country as a Western cellist, her journey turned in a different direction when she discovered Indian music in 1993. She is a recognized master performer of Indian classical music and is credited with inventing a unique instrument called the Indian cello. Her Guru, Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, the revered flute maestro, stated that her music is a gift from God that everyone should experience. Along with her husband, sitarist Shubhendra Rao, Saskia leads a foundation to make music education accessible to every child. Sangeet4All is a complete music framework for institutes focusing on resource development, teacher training and improving the musical infrastructure in schools and institutes. Over 50,000 children and 200 teachers have benefited from the programme.

As the dawn painted streaks of orange across the foggy sky, we embarked on the next leg of our journey, leaving behind the vibrant tapestry of Mohali. Behind the wheel of the Mahindra XUV700, we set our course towards the bustling heart of India, Delhi. The hum of the engine reverberated through the vehicle, a steady rhythm accompanying us on our odyssey through the diverse landscapes of the Indian subcontinent. Leaving the city limits of Mohali behind, we merged onto NH44 which connects Chandigarh to the national capital region.

The XUV700’s powerful 2.2-litre turbo-diesel effortlessly glided along the smooth tarmac at triple-digit speeds, each mile bringing us closer to our destination. One thing that stood out in particular is just how well Mahindra has managed to control the NVH from the mHawk diesel inside the cabin. The comfort of the spacious cabin enveloped us, shielding us from the bedlam of the outside world as we pressed onward towards Delhi to the sound of some relaxing instrumental tunes from the XUV700’s Sony audio system. Approaching the outskirts of Delhi, the skyline gradually came into view emerging as silhouettes through the smoggy horizon, a sprawling metropolis teeming with life and energy. Despite having already covered over 3,000km and our first major third of the journey, we rolled into Delhi barely feeling the strain of over a week on the road, proving once again that the XUV700 was indeed the perfect choice for this drive.

THE XUV700’S POWERFUL 2.2-LITRE MHAWK DIESEL EFFORTLESSLY GLIDED ALONG THE SMOOTH TARMAC AT TRIPLE-DIGIT SPEEDS