Sahaj will encompass two evenings of dance and music – on February 12, Mythili will present ‘AR | DHA’ and on February 13, Soumik will present ‘Travellers’
‘Travellers’ will also be performed at Spoken Fest in Mumbai in February
Soumik will also present his audio-visual project ‘Mone Rekho’ – which was inspired by conversations with people living with dementia – in Ahmedabad
February 2026 – Award-winning sarod musician and composer Soumik Datta collaborates with Los Angeles-based contemporary Bharatnatyam dancer Mythili Prakash to create a two-day festival of music and dance, Sahaj, in Chennai on February 12 and 13.
On February 12, Mythili will perform ‘AR | DHA’ and on February 13, Soumik will present ‘Travellers’.
Sahaj refers to the yogic principle of integration, blending the spiritual with the worldly. As artists, both Mythili and Soumik strive to find sahaj in their creative practices and explorations through work that responds in real time to the present-day world.
Sahaj is presented by Aalaap and Amethyst, and supported by Soumik Datta Arts, Arts Council England and BNP Paribas.
“For so long, dance remained a beautiful and uplifting sanctuary, far removed from the chaotic and largely upsetting world that we live in,” says Mythili, adding, “There was a division between the “worldly” (politics and society) and the “artistic” (spiritual, devotional, elevating). But for the last several years, that line has crumbled. Both AR | DHA and Travellers are attempts to converse through art with the cultures of legacy and present-day society.”
“‘Sahaj’ was Mythili’s brainchild – a bridge connecting our work to audiences in India,” explains Soumik. “Born from the challenges of being NRI artists navigating multiple homes and identities in a constantly shifting world, our works AR | DHA and Travellers offer a glimpse into a new language of live art. Deeply collaborative, unexpected, drawn from personal experience and free from the constraints of outdated thinking, we are thrilled to finally bring this vision to Chennai,” he adds.
AR | DHA, choreographed and directed by the Indian American dancer and choreographer, is an exploration of the iconic mythical dance competition between gods Shiva and Kali. It’s a two-part work told from both Shiva and Kali’s perspectives, exploring the dynamics of love and power in this relationship that is at once human and divine.
Travellers unwraps a genre-blending soundscape that showcases the powerful and transportive nature of audio.
Both these pieces were created in residence at and co-produced by G5A in Mumbai.
Travellers moves across places, conflicts, and emotional terrains. The sarod weaves through recordings of war, migration, and historical warnings, while tabla, violin, and percussion create a constantly shifting sonic landscape. The show reflects the chaos outside, but it also mirrors what lives inside.
For Travellers, Datta is joined on stage by Sayee Rakshith on violin, Debjit Patitundi on tabla, and Sumesh Narayanan on mridangam and percussion.
Apart from Chennai, Travellers will also be presented at Spoken Fest in Mumbai (February 22).
Soumik is also scheduled to perform a sarod recital at the Sacred Festival in Amritsar responding to the theme of ‘sacred in Indian classical music’ on the morning of February 21.
February will also see Soumik present a project very close to his heart, Mone Rekho, in Ahmedabad at Natarani. Mone Rekho, which means ‘remember’ in Bengali, weaves Indian music with electronic sounds, visual collages, cinematic scenes and bursts of comedy.
Initiated in collaboration with Alzheimer’s Society, and inspired by conversations with people living with dementia, Mone Rekho is an immersive audio-visual concert about memory, music and the human mind.
Weaving memories of his late guru, the esteemed maestro Pandit Buddhadev Das Gupta into this immersive concert, Soumik transitions between the roles of student, storyteller and master musician in a space that shifts from concert hall to classroom, care homes, and the streets of Kolkata.
“For me, ‘Mone Rekho’ is more than just a show; it is a quiet plea against the fading of time,” Soumik reveals. “I created it to capture a version of my late guru and his devotion to raga music that words alone cannot hold. It is my way of ensuring that as the years pass, the essence of his teachings, our bond, and the gift of music passed from teacher to student remain firmly anchored. This is what I poured into ‘Mone Rekho’ (which means Remember in Bengali). After performing it in Amsterdam, Edinburgh, Singapore, Mumbai and London I’m excited to bring it to audiences in Ahmedabad,” he adds.
Soumik is currently midway through his seven-month long India tour called Melodies in Slow Motion which will see him travel to all the four corners of the country to perform, collaborate with young musicians, record in unusual spaces, and work with schools and children.
Dates for Soumik Datta in February
February 13 – Sahaj Festival, Chennai |
February 21 – Morning music at Sacred Amritsar Festival |
February 27 – Mono Rekho at Natarani, Ahmedabad
February 22 – Spoken Fest, Mumbai |
