The annual World Music Festival Chicago kicks off this year with India Calling!, a three-day celebration of Indian arts and culture. I was so excited about it that I accidentally showed up a day early to the Pritzker Pavilion for Zakir Hussain’s show. Oops.

Here’s the whole schedule–they’ve made it friendly to the 9-5 crowd, so I hope you’ll check out some of the events (especially the highlighted ones featuring members/friends of SAPAC!).

TUESDAY, SEPT. 21

• 6:00pm, Millennium Park, Pritzker Pavilion: Opening concert with tabla player Zakir Hussain, sitarist Niladri Kumar, and Bharatanatyam dancers Mythili Prakash and Ensemble
• 8:00pm, Chicago Cultural Center, Claudia Cassidy Theater: DJ DhakFu and dancer Vyjayanthi Vadrevu
• 8:30pm, Chicago Cultural Center, Randolph Cafe: DJ Tony Talwar & the One Stop Dhol Crew

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 22
All events take place at Chicago Cultural Center

First Floor Garland Room

• 4-6 pm: Kirtan, Mantras, Chants, and Music Healing by Dr. M. Hari Haaren

G.A.R. Hall and Rotunda

• 5-10 pm: Rural Artisan Village Marketplace

Claudia Cassidy Theater

• 11 am-5 pm: Classic Bollywood film screenings
• 5:45 pm: Shoba Natarajan Dance (Kuchipudi Dance)
• 6:30 pm: Anjal Chande of Soham Dance Space (Contemporary)
• 7:15 pm: Kalipriya Dance Presents “Natya Lila” featuring Kiran Chouhan (Kathak), Sonali Mishra (Odissi) & Pranita Jain (Bharata Natyam)
• 8 pm: Mythili Prakash Dance Ensemble (Bharata Natyam Dance)

Randolph Café

• 5:30 pm: Satya
• 6:30 pm: Jazzmata
• 7:45 pm: Red Baraat

Preston Bradley Hall

• 6 pm: Narasimhacharyulu Samudrala from the Lemont Hindu Temple performs Vedic Chants
• 6:10 pm: Viji Ranganathan
• 6:35 pm: Lyon Leifer (India) & Subhasis Mukherjee
• 7:40 pm: Saraswathi Ranganathan Ensemble
• 8:45 pm: Ronu Majumdar & Vidwan Mysore Manjunath with Ramdas Palsule and Vidwan Arjun Kumar

THURSDAY, SEPT. 23
All events take place at Chicago Cultural Center

First Floor Garland Room

• 4-6 pm Kirtan, Mantras, Chants, and Music Healing by Dr. M. Hari Haaren

G.A.R. Hall and Rotunda

• 5-10 pm Rural Artisan Village Marketplace

Randolph Cafe

• 5:30 pm: Gaurav Venkateswar
• 6:15 pm: Garba Folk Dancing
• 7:30: Bhangra Lessons by Ajanta Chakraborty
• 8:30 pm: DJ Jimmy Singh

Claudia Cassidy Theater

• 11 am-5 pm: Classic Bollywood film screenings
• 6:30 pm: Natya Dance Theater
• 8:00 pm: Tapan Bhattacharyya

In addition to the events above, there will be a Rural Artisan Village Marketplace and a photography and painting exhibit all three days at the Chicago Cultural Center.

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra is hosting a performance by Zakir Hussain on Sunday, March 21, 2010 at 7 pm.

“Classical tabla virtuoso Zakir Hussain has gained worldwide recognition with his masterful improvisational dexterity and brilliant performances. Widely considered a chief architect of the contemporary world music movement, he has collaborated with artists as diverse as George Harrison, Van Morrison and Tito Puente. Hussain leads the Masters of Percussion in a thrilling display of drumming from both North and South Indian classical traditions.”

See here for tickets.