On August 13th, 2022 in Warren Park, SAAPRI collaborated with the Kalapriya Center for Indian Performing Arts Inc, South Asian Classical Music Society, and the South Asian American Chamber of Commerce of Illinois to celebrate 75 years of Indian and Pakistani Independence with poetry and music.
There were performances by:
- Zeshan Bhagawadi – Chicago native Zeshan B’s breakout album “Vetted” was released in April 2017 to commercial and critical acclaim with the album debuting at #8 on Billboard’s Top 10 Albums (World Music) and peaking at #1 on iTunes’ World Music chart. He has performed for two US Presidents – Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama – with the latter performance taking place at the White House’s historic inaugural Eid Celebration in 2016.
- Nicki Sekhar – Nicki is a composer and vocalist based in New York. Sekhar sang in Chicago Children’s Choir for nine years and currently sits on the Choir’s Alumni Task Force. In 2020, Sekhar was named a Rising Star in music by the City of Chicago’s Department of Cultural and Special Events. In 2021, they worked closely with Kalapriya and Chicago Children’s Choir to create Good Trouble and perform in I Sing for Change.
Thank you to all those who attended our event!