The Maulana Azad Centre for Indian Culture (MACIC) at the Embassy of India in Egypt organised a webinar with the title “India and Egypt: Connecting Musically” earlier this week.

Liyaqath Ali, the director of the centre, moderated the webinar.

The speakers were Sajna Sudheer, professor at the Department of Music, Govt. College of Women, University of Kerala, India; and Samah Ismail Ali, professor at the Arab Music Department, Faculty of Music Education, Helwan University.

The indigenous origin of musical forms and the influence of external music traditions during the medieval period were discussed, as were some of the similarities between Indian and Egyptian music traditions at different stages in their evolution. The scholars also compared ragas in India and maqams in Egypt.

Sara Raafat, an Egyptian music teacher who studied in India, shared her experiences during her studies in both countries.

Partha Pratim Mukharji, a trainer in Indian musical instruments from the Embassy of India in Jakarta, performed a live demonstration of different Indian musical instruments.