Anwar Khurshid's musical journey on the sitar as a composer and performer has spanned decades of learning in the tradition of Indian Classical Music. Making innovation and creativity his hallmark, Anwar has engaged in unique collaborations with musicians from other genres including Blues with Paul Deslauriers, Jazz with Bruce Cassidy, Flamenco and Cuban Jazz with Sultans of String, African music with Waleed Kush, World Music with Avani as well as Middle Eastern, Japanese and Chinese music. Through these innovative genres-hopping collaborations, Anwar's music transcends categorization!
Besides providing music for Hollywood and Bollywood films like the Oscar-winning "Life of Pi", Love Guru and Kamasutra, Anwar has received international acclaim performing in USA, Canada, UK, Turkey, India and Pakistan.
She is a professional singer trained in Carnatic and Hindustani classical music, under Gurus Shantha Venkataraman and Jayalakshmi Balasundaram. Coming from a musically inclined South Indian family, she is the granddaughter of Dr. Sivaramamurti, an authority on Indian Art.
She has performed on All India Radio and earned numerous accolades. Dubbed the “Queen of Music” and “Nightingale” of MOP Vaishnav College, she has been performing for over 20 years, including in cities like Bombay, Chennai, New York, and Toronto.
She enjoys singing various styles and languages, teaches classical music to 15 students, and loves traveling and spending time with family. She finds joy and peace in sharing music and learning from fellow musicians.
Raman grew up listening to UK punjabi music. He joined a local bhangra group in 2007 and was mesmerized by the sound of the dhol drum. He fell in love with the instrument and would try to play song beats on his lap using his hands. He finally got his first practice dhol the following year and would continue practicing beats without any lessons. He would listen to songs on repeat to figure out which beat is being played. Raman is self taught and after years of practicing, he is smashing dhol beats on dance floors at parties. No event is complete without RDS Dhol.
To sponsor any of the ICA events please read the Sponsorship Letter and fill the form with level of sponsorship, and email the form to: hello@icawaterloo.com Mail the payment by cheque or bank draft to the registered address shown below this page. Please call us to confirm receipt of the sonsorship form and the payment.