When Dikshitar’s nottu swara meets Raj Kapoor’s melodies

CHENNAI: The South Asian Symphony Orchestra will perform at MS Subbulakshmi Arangam, Taramani, today at 7 PM.

The South Asian Symphony Orchestra returns to Chennai with a symphony that feels less like a concert and more like a conversation across cultures. Conducted by Alvin Arumugam, the evening promises a rare intersection of musical worlds, Western classical discipline, cinematic nostalgia, and traditional Indian grace, woven together by musicians who represent the region’s many histories and hopes.

“This programme reflects what south Asia has always been: a meeting place of traditions. By placing Mozart next to Raj Kapoor and Dikshitar, we’re saying that identity here has never been singular. We’ve always absorbed, adapted, and re-imagined. This mix is really a musical portrait of harmony in diversity,” says Nirupama Menon Rao, founder and trustee of the South Asian Symphony Foundation.

The venue will transform into a meeting ground where Mozart’s intensity, operatic drama, Raj Kapoor’s timeless lyricism, and Muthuswami Dikshitar’s nottuswara find unexpected harmony. Adapting Raj Kapoor and Dikshitar for orchestra without losing emotional truth is a challenging task. However, Nirupama credits respect for the music for making it doable. “We keep the melodic soul intact while allowing the orchestra to expand the colours around it. The aim is not to Westernise the music, but to let it breathe in a new space. If the audience recognises the heart of the tune, we’ve done our job,” she adds.

Founded with a vision of fostering understanding through shared sound, the orchestra’s Chennai performance arrives as a reminder of how music can dissolve borders more gently and powerfully than diplomacy ever could. “Our mission is to open space for dialogue through sound. Chennai’s concert brings that idea to a new audience, in a city with a serious musical lineage. When musicians from across south Asia sit together here, it reinforces that cross-border collaboration is not abstract — it’s happening, note by note.”

Speaking about the transformations she witnesses when musicians from different regions come together, Nirupama lists listening as the first step. “Musicians arrive with different styles, accents, and training — and leave with a sense of belonging to something larger. Friendships form, stereotypes soften, and the music itself becomes warmer and more generous,” she shares.

She is confident that the show will open up a sense of possibility for the Chennai audience that south Asia can create beauty together. “That collaboration is not naïve but necessary. And that music, whether Mozart or Raj Kapoor, can still remind us that listening is the beginning of peace.”