Category: Current Affairs

An overview of Indian classical music and Raga, including aspects of development eg. Alap and Jor, gat & tala, as well as Indian musical ornament in fusion.

Sheema Mukherjee has worked with Transglobal Underground for 25 years.

The first spoken word project Sheema Mukherjee worked on was with Tuup, ‘The Uprecedented Unorthodox Preacher’. Website: https://tuup-storyteller.wixsite.com/tuup It is the told and improvised musical performance of a traditional Indian story called the King and the Corpse, shorter stories within a frame story.

She then began working with another stortyteller, Emily Hennessey. Web site: emilyhennessey.co.uk Together they have 4 shows to date, which the regularly perform, based on the Hindu Epics, Kali, Ramayana, Holy Cow! (Stories from the Ganges). There are also 2 shows more suitable for children.

Emily Hennessey, Ben Haggerty, Stephanie Britton, Tuup, Raoul Neumann (Balkan Marching band) and Rav Neiyyer (TGU), plus a few floaters, and myself, have developed a third project called Pandvani 108. This is based on a 3000 year old storytelling style from central India. The performances include shorter stories from around the world, eg Thor, Drupadi, Narcissus, Dionysus, Amaterasu (Japanese creation story). It is performed with various instruments, improvisation, vocals and contemporary musical references.

Sheema Mukherjee started out in theatre as composer for the shows ‘The Cornershop’ & ‘Eat!’ with Black Country Touring & Foursight, & some smaller shows for Northern Exposure (West Yorkshire Playhouse). In between musical performances and other projects, she was asked to compose for live orchestra for the RSC production of The Empress at the Swan in Stratford on Avon, playing sitar at the helm of a ship! She went on to also performed in Emma Rice’s production of ‘A Midsummer’s Night Dream’ at The Globe.

She has also composed, scented & performed & toured live for Oilycart, which is theatre & music specifically for special needs children 2 shows, ‘In a Pickle’ & Kubka Khan, designed around the poem by Coleridge. During the lockdowns, Sheema was involved in the creation of another scented musical for special needs children called ‘Evolve’, which we are planning to tour in 2023.