Discover South Asia’s music, art, and ideas through performances, hands-on learning, and conversation. Join us for artistic exploration and chai.
Next salon · January 2027
11:00 a.m. PST
Muditā · 653 Laurel Street
San Carlos
$35 per ticket
Grandmaster Mark Heimann
Begin with a short introduction to chaturanga, an early Indian ancestor of chess, then join Grandmaster Mark Heimann for hands-on positions at the board. Hear stories from his games against leading players, try your own moves, and discover the thinking behind each decision through conversation and questions.
Mark Heimann was awarded the grandmaster title in 2025, earning it as an adult while working full time as a machine-learning researcher. He holds a PhD in computer science.
Mark Heimann’s chess profile$35 per ticket
Following salon · January 2027
6:00–7:30 p.m. PST
Muditā · 653 Laurel Street
San Carlos
$35 per ticket
Formed in 2019 and led by core members Divya Purohit Vyas and Jun Ishimuro, Anhad Naad Collective made its San Francisco concert debut in 2020. Its evolving lineup brings South Asian raga-based music into conversation with jazz, R&B, and Black musical traditions.
The collective has appeared at Bird & Beckett, Integral Yoga Institute, the Golden Gate Park Bandstand, and San Francisco’s Summer of Music. Since 2023, it has turned more deeply toward South Asian spiritual music and Sufi Qawwali traditions, seeking guidance from poets and experts in Pakistan and India; lead vocalist Divya previously performed with the Sufi Way-associated Bay Dervish collective in Alameda.
$35 per ticket
Past salons · October 2026
Trikaya
Indian and West African folk traditions meet in a trio shaped by bamboo flute, voice, harp, percussion, and improvisation. The artists share the histories carried by their instruments and how each found a personal path into music that crosses cultures without losing its roots.
Srishti Biyani Oswal · bansuri and voice / Greg Fletcher · kamalengoni / Ben Isaacs · percussion
Meet Trikaya ↗
Kamal Ahmad with Edrees Osman
A guided evening of sitar and close listening. Kamal Ahmad will be accompanied by Edrees Osman as Kamal traces his journey from neuroscience and his early study of tabla into sitar, then opens up the architecture of a raag—its mood, signature phrases, and the freedom of improvisation within form.
Kamal Ahmad · sitar / Edrees Osman · accompaniment
Meet Kamal Ahmad ↗
Dr. Rohan Krishnamurthy + Varun Pattabhiraman
A mentor-and-student mridangam duet rooted in the Pudukottai lineage. Rohan and Varun reveal how Carnatic rhythm is learned, remembered, improvised, and passed forward—turning intricate rhythmic cycles into a vivid musical exchange.
Rohan Krishnamurthy · mridangam / Varun Pattabhiraman · mridangam and Carnatic percussion
Meet Rohan and Varun ↗