Mission

Chhandayan means the course (ayan) of rhythm (chhand).
 

Chhandayan is a non-profit organization dedicated to serve all aspects of Indian classical music. With its primary mission to propagate learning, understanding and appreciation of Indian classical music, our activities cover almost all of the areas essential to such pursuit, including education (classes, lectures, seminars, workshops) and performing arts events.

We are also dedicated to propagating the cause of world music through collaborative projects with classical arts from different parts of the world such as European Classical Music,  American Jazz, Flamenco and different percussion traditions from all over the world.

Since 1998, Chhandayan has been dedicated to the propagation of Indian Classical & World Music in New York and New Jersey, neighboring states and around the world. We have a broad and thriving arts program spanning education, performance and publications.

Annual activities include:

  • Over 25 concerts in New York, including a one-of-a-kind All-Night Concert of Indian classical music now in its 17th season;
  • Concerts in other locations such as New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland, Florida, Minneapolis, Seattle as well as outside the US in Toronto and India;
  • Ongoing music education programs across vocal music, classical instruments (Tabla, Sitar, Harmonium, Sarangi, Violin, etc.), and classical dance for students with weekly classes;
  • Educational workshops and seminars led by some of the greatest performers in the world today; and  
  • Multiple musical publications and educational multi-media content developed for the benefit of students and research.

Our regular classes, workshops and seminars follow the traditional manner of guru-shishya (master-to-disciple) transmission inherent to Indian classical music. Because of our strong faith in the ubiquitous success of this system, we have actively encouraged students from diverse ethnic backgrounds to participate in our classes and promote those participants as they mature throughout their musicianship with positive and supportive performance opportunities. In this way Chhandayan has earned a reputation as a pedigree musical institution bringing Indian classical music to Western audiences and Western musicians to Indian audiences.