Voices reach out across Scottish-Indian cultures

An Argyll choir with members from around the area is taking part in a unique project which will see Scotland and India’s shared histories fused in music and dance.

The piece called Interwoven is a collaboration featuring the Voices of Argyll choir, Indian dance and traditional Indian instruments.

The Hope Scott Trust have funded a new commission by Indian composer Amit Andand for choir, sitar, tabla, piano and Indian dance, which will be performed at the Scottish Parliament on Thursday May 23 and in Dunoon Grammar school on Friday May 24 as well as at the Mela

Festival in Kelvingrove Park, Glasgow on Sunday June 23.

The composition written for Voices of Argyll, conducted by Alison McNeill, sets out to highlight the contributions of a female Scottish author Flora Anne Steele in colonial India or the British Raj.

Her deep appreciation for Indian culture and her work in the field of education was inspiring and composer Amit set out to bring in these elements together.

The piece is written in four movements; the first movement is based on a Sikh prayer Ik Onkar. It was Punjab where Flora first arrived in, where Sikh religion is the dominant religion.

The second movement combines the poem Purdah Nasheen written by the first Indo-Anglo woman poet Sarojini Naidu.

The words talk about affluent women hiding

behind the veil (purdah) in mansions untouched by the reality of the world outside their vision. Flora was highly critical of her British counterparts in India for not taking enough interest in local culture. Flora was keen on picking up the vernacular of the region she was staying in and understanding the ways of life.

In the other movements, the piece also explores the Indian ragas and rhythmic syllables called Konnokol.

The entire project was aimed at bringing Indian culture, stories and music to Dunoon and celebrating the strong connection between Scotland and India that has existed since the beginning of the British Raj.

The choir and local community took part in an Indian dance in February and they have visited the Hindu Temple in Glasgow and rehearsed with the Indian musicians.