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.

Last updated Sept. 13

I’m posting this a few days early to make up for not doing an August entry and to remind you to buy your tickets for VOICES OF RESISTANCE!

Voices of Resistance 9: Fair and Lovely @ Old Town School of Folk Music
Sunday, September 12 @ 6:00pm

Join SAPAC for our 9th annual political/performing arts showcase! This year’s theme, Fair and Lovely, elicits many images and responses, including complexities of identity; the divisions within us, our families, communities and beyond; historic and contemporary understandings of beauty; privilege within our communities; and the struggles for acceptance and compassion in our lives. VOR 9: Fair and Lovely promises to be an entertaining, inspiring and informative evening, continuing the tradition of showcasing fine South Asian talent! Buy your tickets today!

SAPAC presents Dr. Subba Rao @ Hamdard Center ADDED 8/26
Thursday, September 2 @ 6:30pm

Dr. S.N. Subba Rao, a fellow of Gandhi Peace Foundation and founder of National Youth Project, gives a talk at the Devon office of the Hamdard Center.

Anjal Chande @ Harold Washington Library ADDED 8/30
Wednesday, September 1 @ 12:15pm

Bharatanatyam dancer Chande performs and discusses using dance in storytelling.

Water Ways @ Walsh Gallery ADDED 9/13
Friday, September 10 – November 13, 2010

The West Loop-based Walsh Gallery presents an exhibition exploring the way art and water intersect as seen by prominent artists from China and India, including Vivan Sundaram, Reena Kallat, Gulam Mohammed Sheikh, and Sheba Chhachhi. While the pics don’t do some of the work justice, a preview of the show is available on the gallery’s website.

The World Stage: India-Sri Lanka @ Rhona Hoffman Gallery ADDED 9/13
Friday, September 10 – October 23, 2010

Wiley‘s portraits of young men from New Delhi, Mumbai, and Sri Lanka are based on major historical paintings but with the subjects placed in new, culturally specific settings. Wiley has done similar series featuring young men from Brazil, China, and Africa, all vivid and striking.

Jitish Kallat @ Art Institute of Chicago
Saturday, September 11 – January 2, 2011

“September 11–?today the date alone refers to the unforgettable events of 2001, the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Yet, 108 years earlier in 1893, this date was marked by a very different occasion, the landmark speech by Swami Vivekananda at the First World Parliament of Religions promoting religious tolerance. Internationally renowned Indian artist Jitish Kallat draws attention to the great chasm between these two events with his site-specific installation, Public Notice 3,” opening September 11.

Kallat gives an introductory lecture on the exhibit at 6:00pm on Friday, September 10. At 9:00pm the same night, the museum hosts an After Dark event featuring tours of its Indian and Southeast Asian art collections, a set by DJ Madrid, and performances by theater collective Collaboraction.

Subcontinental Drift @ Delicious
Thursday, September 16 @ 7:00pm

The 3rd installment of this South Asian open mic moves to River North for the downtown working crowd. Comedian Saurin Choksi emcees, and a desi DJ spins after the show.

3rd International Ramayana Conference @ Northern Illinois University
Saturday, September 18 – Sunday, September 19

NIU, the University of Illinois, and the International Ramayana Institute of North America co-sponsor this annual academic conference.

India Calling! @ Various venues
Tuesday, September 21 – Thursday, September 23

This year’s edition of the venerable World Music Festival kicks off with India Calling!, a free 3-day festival featuring music and dance performances, an exhibit of photographs by Steve McCurry and paintings by Paresh Maity, yoga and meditation classes, films, artisans from rural villages of India, and more. Events take place at Millennium Park, the Chicago Tourism Center, and the Chicago Cultural Center.

The opening night concert at Millennium Park’s Pritzker Pavilion features tabla virtuoso Zakir Hussain and Bharatanatyam dancers Mythili Prakash and Ensemble.

September 21 schedule
September 22 schedule
September 23 schedule

Salaam India @ North Shore Center for the Performing Arts ADDED 9/13
Friday, September 24 @ 8:00pm

The Indo-American Heritage Museum and Vachikam present this English-language play inspired by Pavan Varma’s Being Indian.

Delhi 2 Dublin & Red Baraat @ Darkroom
Friday, September 24 @ 9:00pm

World Music Festival Chicago and Bhangratheque present a night of bhangra music with Vancouver-based 5-piece Delhi 2 Dublin and dhol ‘n’ brass band Red Baraat. Includes a set by DJ Jimmy Singh and bhangra dance lessons by Ajanta.

I Still Live Here @ Columbia College Chicago Dance Center ADDED 9/13
Sunday, September 25 @ 12:30pm

Chicago-based African diasporic performance project The Artisans of Alchemy premieres this work for the Columbia Dance Center’s daylong celebration marking its tenth year in its current space at 1306 S. Michigan.  Choreographed by Ni’Ja Whitson and supported by original compositions from sound artist (and Friend of SAPAC) nikhil trivedi, the piece questions our complicity and personal relationship to violence; and connects the horrific reality of “corrective rapes” occurring in staggering numbers in South Africa, to shared histories of, struggles to overcome, and experiences within collective trauma.

Geetakshari @ Prairie Center for the Arts
Sunday, September 25 @ 7:00pm

Navarang presents this musical contest for fans of Bollywood. Teams of 2 will be auditioned Sept. 12, 1-4pm, at Schaumburg’s Prairie Center, and finalists will compete for prizes of $200-400 on Sept. 25. Contact navarangentertainment@gmail.com, 630-980-9870, or 630-881-0757 for more info.

Asha-Sikhcess Family Fun Run @ Deer Grove East Forest Preserve ADDED 9/13
Monday, September 26 @ 8:30am

The Chicago Chapter of Asha for Education and Sikhcess team up for this 5K run/walk in Palatine to support children’s education.

Jaswinder Bolina @ Sherwood Conservatory
Wednesday, September 29 @ 5:30pm

Bolina, the 2010-11 Liberal Arts and Sciences Emerging Poet-in-Residence at Columbia College Chicago, joins felow poet Becca Klaver for a fall reading.

Talvin Singh @ Mayne Stage ADDED 9/13
Wednesday, September 29 @ 8:00pm

British DJ and tabla player Talvin Singh performs as part of the 2010 World Music Festival Chicago.

M.I.A. @ Vic Theatre ADDED 9/13
Wednesday, September 29 – Thursday, September 30 @ 8:00pm

Maya Arulpragasam brings music from her latest album to the Vic.  And I’m going. Are you? Rye Rye opens.

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.