Gems and Jewels: A Talk by Dr. Amineh Hoti
RSVP: info@gandhimemorialcenter.org
June 20, 2026 at 1:30 p.m.
Dr. Amineh Hoti is a social anthropologist trained with a Ph.D. in anthropology at the University of Cambridge, UK. Her work bridges scholarship, policy, and peacebuilding. She is an honorary Professor at Nottingham University and is a Fellow Commoner at Lucy Cavendish College, the University of Cambridge, U.K. She has lectured and taught at leading institutions including the Universities of Cambridge, Oxford, and Georgetown. She has talked at the White House Interfaith Conference and collaborated with the United Nations on genocide prevention and cross-cultural dialogue initiatives. She was Governor at St Mary’s Senior School, Cambridge, U.K. and Program Director Seerat at the Higher Education Commission (HEC, Pakistan). Dr. Hoti is also founding Director of two interfaith Centres in Cambridge including the Centre for the Study of Muslim-Jewish Relations. She is a scholar-author-academic with extensive experience in curriculum development.
Dr. Hoti’s book “Gems and Jewels” about the ten religious communities of Pakistan, was used as the inspiration and blueprint for a Cambridge foundation course. The book is a mosaic of areas of South Asia, a place where multiple traditions, histories, and identities intersect, challenge, and enrich one another. Dr. Hoti’s work combines rigorous field research with practical engagement, making her a compelling voice on intercultural understanding and peacebuilding in an era of global uncertainty. Drawing on her training at the University of Cambridge and her fieldwork across diverse communities, she moves beyond headlines to reveal lived faith, coexistence, and the moral imagination of ordinary people from different faiths. Her talk will focus on a nuanced and deeply human exploration of South Asia’s religious landscape, illuminating the spiritual traditions that have shaped its culture and social fabric. Please join us!
Concert: Sitar with Flamenco Guitar and Tabla
Ustad Shafaat Khan, world-renowned Sitar virtuoso. With his deep-rooted musical heritage and unparalleled mastery of sitar, surbahar, tabla, and vocals, Maestro Khan has performed and captivated audiences worldwide—from India and Europe to the U.S. and Japan—sharing stages with Stevie Wonder (Bonnaroo) and Ray Charles (Germany TV). Representing the ImdadKhani Gharana he is the son of the legendary Ustad Imrat Khan and nephew of Ustad Vilayet Khan.
He also released a historic CD recording featuring solo performances on sitar and surbahar, while accompanying himself on tabla—a rare accomplishment that highlights his exceptional artistry and command of multiple classical Indian instruments.
His latest project, East Meets West, blends Indian classical/Folk music with jazz, Pop, flamenco, rock, and world rhythms—a powerful, cross-cultural concert that’s both engaging and educational.
Beledo, originally from Uruguay, is a New York–based guitarist and pianist known internationally for his albums and collaborations with artists including Ustad Shafaat Khan, Bakithi Kumalo, Randy Brecker, Stefon Harris, Mino Cinelu, Tito Puente, and Celia Cruz. He has toured worldwide across the U.S., South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia, opening for Ustad Shafaat Khan and jazz-fusion legends Soft Machine and Allan Holdsworth. Versed in classical theory, composition, and global musical traditions, Beledo is recognized as a highly versatile and accomplished artist.
Daniel Johnson’s path in music has been a journey from the pounding percussive energy of performing with Philadelphia’s 20 member Spoken Hand Percussion Orchestra, to the Freedom and Vibe performing with Miles Davis alum’s Badal Roy’s “Dharma Jazz” to the intense depth of Tabla player to North Indian Classical Sitar legend Ustad Shafaat Khan. These and many more projects including being a percussionist at Princeton University for the department of Modern Dance have kept him moving further into subtle pulsation.
“My Heart Leaps With Wonder” - Rabindranath Tagore
Join us for a program of Rabindranath Tagore’s love for nature through music, narration, poetry and dance. Concept, Script and Music by Dr. Sudeshna Basu.
Kriya Meditation Series
For seven Sundays April 12 - May 24 at 11:00 a.m., join us for our Kriya Meditation Series in the Golden Lotus Temple. All are welcome.
Sitar Duo with Father and Son: Sugato and Snehesh Nag
Father and Son Duo Sugato and Snehesh Nag will present a Jugalbandi Sitar Concert accompanied by Mallar Goswami on tabla. Admission payable at the door.
Tigers of Ranthambhore
Join us for an exhibit and presentation on the Tigers of Ranthambhore, India with wildlife photographer, Kunal K. Singh.
A Billion Butterflies: A Life in Climate and Chaos Theory
Join us for reflections from Dr. Jagadish Shukla’s recent book as he describes the journey from his childhood village lacking roads, schools or drinking water, to later earning two Ph.D.s, the first from India and the second from MIT with the passion to help his fellow villagers by attempting to predict the monsoons. His sense of optimism in life and science led him to question the overly pessimistic implications of the widely quoted butterfly effect, while his research established a scientific basis for seasonal prediction well beyond the limits of weather prediction.
New Year’s Eve Music and Meditation
All are welcome to enter the Golden Lotus Temple at 4:30pm for devotional music and meditation. Let the peaceful music offered into the receding twilight of 2025 draw us into Self-reflection and meditation. Following the music you are invited to illumine a candle, in the prayerful light of faith and holy hope, and offer an incense of fragrant devotion at the beautiful altar prepared for your silent invocation.
Kriya Yoga Meditation Series
Sunday, June 8, 2025 at 11:00 a.m.
Presented by Srimati Karuna
Golden Lotus Temple
For the final Sunday of our annual Kriya Yoga Meditation Series, we dwell upon the sacred sound and vibration, the “seed” syllable, of AUM. By our meditation on the vibratory power and meaning of AUM, we transcend all limitations and reach the infinite. We meditate on the glory of that effulgent reality from which the whole universe is projected.
Kriya Yoga Meditation Series
Seven Sundays at 11:00 a.m.
Sunday, April 27, 2025 through Sunday, June 8, 2025
Presented by Srimati Karuna
Golden Lotus Temple
God, Gurus and Our Spiritual Heritage - Sunday, April 27, 2025
Free the Mind for the Soul - Sunday, May 4, 2025
Power of Prana - Sunday, May 11, 2025
Breath of Life - Sunday, May 18, 2025
Hong Swa Meditation - Sunday, May 25, 2025
If Thine Eye Be Single - Sunday, June 1, 2025
Sacred Sound of AUM - Sunday, June 8, 2025
Exhibit: Art and Calligraphy in the Constitution of India
The Gandhi Memorial Center in cooperation with the Embassy of India presents this exhibition commemorating the 75th Year of the Constitution of India. This exhibition has been curated by the Ministry of Culture of India to highlight the artistic and cultural contributions to the original manuscript of the Constitution. The exhibit may be viewed on Fridays and Saturdays from 10am to 4pm and by appointment. info@gandhimemorialcenter.org for more information.
Kriya Meditation Series
On each of the seven mornings we will take time to unfold the purpose, ideal and technique of Kriya. By its nature, Kriya Meditation is composed of our own self-effort and self-unfoldment towards Self-realization. Kriya Yoga is a Sanskrit expression of two words: Kriya means work and Yoga signifies union or oneness. In its spiritual connotation Kriya Yoga is the subjective method of meditation whereby the realization of absolute oneness is attained.
This Kriya series is for all who aspire to the practice and ideal in the life of yoga.
Sitar Concert with Snehesh Nag and Monir Hossain on tabla
Snehesh Nag is a sitar player, composer, and educator who performs Hindustani classical music and Indian-inspired cross-genre music. He has performed extensively in India, the US, and Canada garnering wide acclaim, and is the recipient of multiple accolades such as the National Scholarship, Government of India and the Acharya Allauddin Khan Memorial Award.
As a sitarist, he has trained with his father Pandit Sugato Nag and legend of sarod Pandit Buddhadev Dasgupta, and plays a unique blend of two gharanas (school of music), namely the Senia Shahjahanpore and Enayatkhani gharana. As a composer and improvisor, he collaborates with a variety of musicians where he enjoys discovering and improvising based on the common musical language shared between them. Known for his versatility, Snehesh’s collaborations range from playing with Indian classical tabla legends such as Pandit Anindo Chatterjee to The Princeton Symphony, Grammy winning and nominated musicians such as singer-songwriter Cathy Fink, Hip-hop artist Christylez Bacon, and violinist William Harvey. Snehesh holds a master's degree in music technology and is a music producer on his upcoming album Nag Mahal. He was an artist-in-residence at Strathmore, class of 2024.
As an educator, Snehesh has been teaching privately for many years and frequently conducts workshops. He has worked with Baltimore Symphony’s OrchKids program and conducted workshops at places such as Strathmore and Silkroad’s Global Musicians Workshop, where he has expanded upon both Indian classical repertoire, as well as tools to converse with other musical traditions.
Monir Hossain, tabla soloist, accompanist, and teacher, was born into a musical family including his father, classical vocalist Ustad Hafiz Hossain, and his grandfather, North Indian classical vocal and tabla researcher Late Ustad Kader Buksh of West Bengal. He is a senior disciple of tabla maestro Pandit Samar Saha of Kolkata. Monir has performed in North America and Canada, India and Bangladesh, along with the Late Ustad Vilayat Khan, Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, and others. His performance venues have included the Washington Conservatory of Music, the Peabody Institute, the Smithsonian Institute, M.I.T., and the Public Library in Toronto.
He has taught at University of Pennsylvania and currently teaches at India School in Bethesda, MD. Monir received special citation from the Sangeet Piyasi Music Institute at Uttam Manch in Kolkata.
Exhibit Opening Reception with Rokeya Sultana
Shades of Harmony
Exhibit Opening Reception
Saturday, October 12, 2024
1 p.m.
RSVP info@gandhimemorialcenter.org
The exhibit will be on display in the Gandhi Memorial Center October 12 - 26, 2024. After the opening reception it may be viewed on Fridays and Saturdays between 10am and 4pm and by appointment.
About the Artist:
Rokeya Sultana is an accomplished and international award-winning printmaker and painter, with recognitions in the 9th Asian Biennale and the National Art Exhibition, Dhaka, the 3rd Bharat Bhaban Biennale, India, a residency scholarship to L'Atelier Lacouriere et Frelaut, Paris. She has studios in Dhaka and Sydney, and is an influential figure in Dhaka, Santiniketan and Sydney art scenes. Sultana is a Fulbright Fellow who has exhibited her work in Poland, Germany, Morocco, Oman (Bait Al Zubair Museum), France, Iran, Egypt, Turkey, Taiwan, Nepal, Korea, Denmark, Pakistan, India, USA—Denver, Wyoming, NY (Art Student League)-and Japan, among other countries.
http://www.rokeyasultana-bd.com
Gandhi Jayanti
Join us for an observance of the 155th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi with lighting of diyas around the reflecting pool, devotional music, Bharatanatyam dance and special remarks on the life and message of Mahatma Gandhi. All are welcome.
Summer Recess
The Gandhi Center will be closed for the months of July and August. We will reopen the first weekend in September.
Exhibit: Ode to Peace and Love
RSVP for Ode to Peace and Love Exhibit Viewing and Reception
Saturday, June 8, 2024
Gandhi Memorial Center
2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
