LEXINGTON, MA–This Mother’s day, Leher, a New England-based live band and group of musical enthusiasts, will bring to the New England community, “Sufiyana Bahaar” a one of a kind, collection of soulful and powerful Sufi melodies.
Leher has previously organized successful concerts such as “Shaam-E-Leher” in 2013, “Mitt ke Rang” in 2014 and Tarang in 2015 where Leher raised funds for Sankara eye foundation’s vision 20/20 by 2020 project.
With Sufiyana Bahaar they are collaborating with the Boston chapter of the Association for India’s Development (AID) to raise funds and awareness about their work on maternal and child health.
Leher was conceptualized by the mother-daughter duo of Dr. Amal and Dr. Raagini Jawa, both physicians, both musicians, passionate about bringing different genres of South Asian music to Boston. By creating Leher, they have provided a platform for a talented group of musicians to perform and have built a community that is united by their common love for music and the joy it spreads.
Every member of Leher wears multiple hats. While they have fulfilling and busy professional lives, they also are incredibly dedicated to their craft and continue to grow as musicians.
Dr. Amal Jawa is a physician and senior hospital administrator, who for years has trained in Hindustani semi- classical vocal music under the guidance of Guru Pradeep Verma and Adarsh Sangeet Vidhyalaya, New Delhi. She has competed and won several inter-college and local music competitions.
Dr Raagini Jawa, is a senior Internal Medicine resident at Boston Medical Center. She is multi-talented singer, trained in semi classical vocal music under the guidance of Mrs. Swati Panda. She also plays many instruments such as the violin, Esraj and ukulele.
Amal and Raagini are joined by other stellar members of the Greater Boston Indian community, such as Dr. Sanjay Jain, professor of finance is also a talented stage performer, who continues to learn music under the guidance of Shri Pradeep Shukla. Sushil Motwani, also a student of Dr. Pradeep Shukla is an engineer by profession. Krishan Aneja, is a software consultant by profession, and an accomplished and guitarist with 10 years of experience.
Dipankar Deshmukh, a Software Engineer and founder/owner of a Software QA Automation company, is classically trained and experienced Esraj player and a music teacher. Shauni Deshmukh who is classically trained and talented sarod player will be supporting the Leher team and presenting a jugalbandy with her father.
Vinphin Varghese, is a self-taught musician who plays Western Drums and the Melodica. He is percussionist for a 50-piece wind ensemble group, The Windham Concert Band, a popular community band in Windham, NH. He works as an embedded engineer for a medical device company.
Paul Senn has studied music theory and compositions in the western classical tradition. He has been playing guitar and related string instruments for more than 25 years. When he is not playing guitar, he works in the software development field in mobile entertainment and media company.
This year, Leher is introducing two additional young artists Mukund Desibhatla, a Senior in High school a very talented harmonium player and his brother the youngest member of Leher, Keshav Desibhatla, our tabla player who has been playing since he was six years old. He is trained by Aditya Kalyanpur and Amit Kavthekar and recently, Sunil Raju Bhansode. In addition to his passion for playing table, he also plays cello in his school orchestra. Both brothers love skiing and soccer.
In addition to their passion for music, the members of Leher are also socially responsible, giving members of their community. Their previous concerts have raised funds for Sankara Eye Foundation. With Sufiyana Bahaar, they will be collaborating with and raising funds for Association for India’s Development (AID Boston) maternal and child health projects.
AID supports healthcare projects in Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Tamil Nadu, working primarily at the grassroots with tribals and other marginalized communities dealing with issues ranging from malnutrition to Tuberculosis to maternal and infant mortality.
To learn more about AID and Leher, join us for Sufiyana Bahaar on May 14th, 2017 at Cary Memorial Hall, 1605 Massachusetts Avenue, Lexington, MA. Buy tickets or donate at AID events
