London-based sarod player Soumik Datta's project Travellers weaves AR Rahman's Bombay Theme from the 1995 film, Jawaharlal Nehru's Tryst with Destiny speech, and global voices into an exploration of migration and memory. The work merges Indian classical music with field recordings and political speeches. Datta performed it recently at Delhi's Piano Man Jazz Club as part of his India tour.
Soumik Datta, a 42-year-old London-based sarod player, has created Travellers, a multimedia project that integrates composer AR Rahman's haunting Bombay Theme from Mani Ratnam's 1995 film—made in the aftermath of the Babri Masjid demolition and communal violence—with Nehru's Tryst with Destiny speech from the eve of Partition. The piece also includes a Tulsidas bhajan pleading for harmony, Ishwar-allah tero naam, sabko sanmati de bhagwaan. Datta connects this to his childhood memory of fear during the 1992 Mumbai riots, when he was 10 years old living in the city with his family. "I still remember the fear I had felt then," Datta says. He notes that Nehru's words raise questions about home and belonging amid the birth of India and Pakistan, adding, "Things still feel equally volatile."
Accompanied by Sayee Rakshith on violin, Debjit Patitundi on tabla, and Sumesh Narayanan on mridangam and percussion, Datta's sarod ties together these narratives. Travellers forms part of his seven-month India tour, Melodies in Slow Motion, involving performances, collaborations, and work with schools and children.
The project features field recordings such as refugee cries during deportations, Gaza broadcasts, J. Robert Oppenheimer's quote "Now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds," anti-Trump protests, Bob Dylan's Blowin' in the Wind, Arundhati Roy's speech on collective consciousness, Charlie Chaplin's words on kindness from The Great Dictator, the Hindi Hum honge kamyaab, and Woody Guthrie's This Land Is Your Land.
Inspired by his work with the UK's Alzheimer’s Society and UCL's Division of Psychology on music's link to memory, Datta developed this from his earlier piece Mone Rekho, meaning 'remember' in Bengali, which reflected losing memories of his guru Buddhadeb Dasgupta. He highlights the sarod's origins from the rabab as a symbol of Hindu-Muslim fusion and migration. Interviews with UK migrants revealed themes of cultural erasure for assimilation, especially amid border issues. Datta comments on former UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, son of migrants, being anti-migration: "I found that quite difficult to digest."
Developed during a residency at Mumbai's G5A, Travellers adopts an "ear cinema" format, blending concert and audio documentary. Gaza's suffering provides the emotional core, with solidarity for regional music facing erasure. Datta reflects on his mother's migration from Mumbai to London, where she built a community through music, evoking displacement in varying degrees.
