What is Sitar Niketan?

~A write-up by Sitar Niketan student Alexander Boyne - independant world culture scholar ~

“Sitar Niketan is a place of celebration of the Indian Classical Music Tradition… It is sweat. It is joy. A lot of practice [and] concentration goes on. It brings people together, it brings peace. I’m grateful to be a part of this.”

- Manu Sharma, Sitar Niketan Student

In Bangla, Sitar Niketan means “haven for sitar”. The haven is a product of the passion and dedication of its founder Alif Laila. Through her careful tending, Sitar Niketan has flourished into a sanctum of South Asian culture. It is a place that resonates the deep connection between nature and music. The space is creatively designed and literally hand crafted to experience the audio visual richness of South Asian culture. Sitar Niketan spreads the infinite beauty of Indian classical music through the teachings of Senia Maihar "Gharana" (school of music).

Founded in 2015, Sitar Niketan has evolved into a diverse community. Students grouped together from all different walks, sharing a mutual love of music especially sitar. Alif Laila teaches students to bring forth the sounds, colors, fragrance, and taste of South Asian culture. The culture is ingrained within its space and embraced by students of all ages and backgrounds. The unifying and inclusive culture of Sitar Niketan helps students connect and sync with the instrument and the music’s philosophy. All of that fused with warmth and positivity enhances the essence of universal spirituality and unity sitar creates.

The school offers classes to students of any age who show a commitment to learn. Guru Alif guides student learning about the beauty and traditions of Indian classical music. Guru Alif teaches sitar through a variety of different methods at Sitar Niketan. Group Sargam and meditation, interschool and interdisciplinary collaborations, and student group recitals provide few of the learning opportunities offered in addition to traditional solo classes.

Beyond teaching, Sitar Niketan seeks to spread the tranquil message of sitar out into the world. Sitar Niketan works with various artists to experiment and expand its musical horizons. Sitar Niketan looks to blend the unique sound of sitar and introduce new creations into the world.

Our Mission

The mission of Sitar Niketan is to spread the peaceful resonance of sitar out into the world. Sitar Niketan hopes to pass down the knowledge and traditions of Alif’s gurus, to its students, the community and beyond. We seek to establish a community where the beauty of South Asian culture resonate through music and continues to thrive. Sitar Niketan hopes to spread peace and unity through music.

“Sitar Niketan fulfills a longtime standing dream of mine to learn about the sitar and to play this beautiful instrument. Guru Alif Laila’s dedication and creative artistry is inspiring. Sitar Niketan has become a pioneering institution in the teaching and propagation of sitar music in the Wash DC area, which we are proud of.”

- Malabi Venkatesan, Sitar Niketan Student.

Our Vision

Sitar Niketan envisions a world where music strengthens the bonds of humanity and ends conflict: A vision where the spiritual resonance of sitar radiates in every person. Sitar Niketan’s works towards this vision through teaching students. The creation of a fully trained and accomplished sitarist community is its hope. Niketan has Alif Laila’s advanced pupils performing and teaching the next generation as its intended legacy. The continuation of sitar’s message of beauty and inner peace lives through them.

“The sounds of sitar resonate deeply with nature at Sitar Niketan in its outdoor amphitheater-like classroom and an indoor artisan space. It is a home and sanctuary for the students. Guru Alif’s immense energy, positivity and beautiful music is a joy to witness.”

- Rochika Chaudhry, Sitar Niketan Student.

Who is Alif Laila?

“[Alif Laila] is amazing. She is very patient. She is very flexible, very determined… she is not only is my role model with sitar, but other aspects of my life as well. She is an awesome teacher.[She] cares a lot about her students.”

- Meem Haque, Sitar Niketan Student

Alif Laila is the founder and guru of Sitar Niketan. An internationally recognized professional sitarist, Alif has been teaching Indian classical music for over 20 years. Alif created Sitar Niketan to pass down her musical knowledge that she received from her gurus, and make her hopes of blossoming it with refreshed reality. The vision of Sitar Niketan encompasses her dream of a world resonating the beauty of sitar. Born in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Alif’s mother first encouraged her to start learning sitar. She began her musical journey with studying under the late Ustad Mir Qasem Khan, a celebrated Bangladeshi sitarist, studied as a disciple of his uncle, the legendary Ustad Allaudin Khan. She was trained by Mir Qasem in the Senia Maihar gharana, the gharana she teaches today.

Alif moved to the United States after she earned her fine arts degree from Dhaka University. She persisted studying sitar, learning under several celebrated contemporary sitarists including Partha Chatterjee, Krishna Bhatt, and Kushal Das. She continued to expand her knowledge and passion for sitar under these gurus. She began her career as a full-time musician in 2000. Her premiere performance was at the Bangladesh National Museum. She played the concert alongside the living legend of tabla, Pandit Anindo Chatterjee.

Since then she has become a well-established performer in world music. Alif has played alongside many of the biggest names in Indian classical music. Her audio-visual work of based on ‘raags and nature was presented in the Smithsonian’s 2008 Women's History Month events. She has entertained crowds at venues and music festivals across North America, Europe, and Asia including famous venues such as the Kennedy and Southbank Centeres, UNESCO, Paris. In 2010 her album, Strings of Resonance, received a nomination for the Best Classical Music Award in Bangladesh. She received the Lifetime Achievement Award from ASHA (Wag DC) for her cultural contribution to the community. AramcoWorld featured Alif in 2020 as an eminent creative sitar artist.

Outside of performing, composing, directing, and producing Indian classical music concerts Alif continues to work tirelessly guiding her students. Alif dedicates much of her time organizing projects to strengthen Sitar Niketan’s community. The growth of creative new ideas and music for sitar is her constant endeavor She consistently seeks professional musicians across all genres for new collaborative projects.

“[Sitar Niketan] is not coming to just learn an instrument… It’s much more than that. It’s a personal thing. It’s something like a family… It’s a very positive inclusive type of energy that [Alif Laila] has created. It goes beyond just trying to learn how to play sitar.”

- John Carr, Sitar Niketan Student

What is Learning from Alif Laila like?

The privilege of having Alif Laila as a guru cannot be exaggerated. She has demonstrated what a truly amazing person and musician. As a guru she has shown how sincerely she cares about her students. She desires their friendship, personal well-being, and development. She fully commits herself to the projects of Sitar Niketan to create the ideal for her and her students. Alif Laila holds the position of guru in high-esteem and cherishes her student relationships. She views the task of teaching as a holistic one. At the core of Alif’s teaching philosophy is the power of sitar. Students come to understand that learning sitar offers a chance for both spiritual and personal growth. The vibrations of sitar carry through them and touch people on a spiritual level. Sitar can manifest your will into the universe unlike anything else when you’re playing. It works with people to teach them the rich musical traditions of South Asia. Sitar Niketan tries to create a center of culture with sitar and the arts. The school looks to create a vibration that will spread sitar’s sounds of peace to further scopes. Alif Laila takes the role of teacher with great seriousness. She has the characteristics of kindness and understanding. She also has high expectations for her students. She expects mutual respect from her students, as their guru. She allows for differing levels of learning and does not expect instant results. She merely asks for a commitment to learn, an open mind, and positive energy during lessons.

She is determined to teach to the students’ best capacity, she’s hard on you… she doesn’t let you give up. She understands you and she works around you… She knows my weaknesses and she works [around them]… I feel like Alif’s become a friend and mentor.”

- Varsha Garnepudi, Sitar Niketan Student

Sitar Niketan’s Ongoing and Past Projects

At Sitar Niketan, Guru Alif continuously plans the next event. Sitar Niketan holds various artistic musical events with and for students several times a year. Events have a wide range of formats, and always reflect Sitar Niketan’s core values.

The most regular event that takes place at the school are Sargam Meditation classes. These group classes give students the opportunity to practice together and feed off each other's energy. The class consists of two parts. The first part has the class review the raag scale exercises vocally, reciting notes as they are played aka sargams. After the sargam, students play the together with little or no speaking. The silence allows the sitar’s sound to entrance them. Students create bonds, sharing an experience deeper than talking. The sitars’ combined resonation brings a deep calm to everyone by the class’s end.

Student’s progress reflects Sitar Niketan’s pride. Students perform twice a year to strengthen the material learned in class. This events, are staged outdoors in nature, has the entire Sitar Niketan class participate. It gives students the opportunity to offer others their beautiful music, and simultaneously take pride in their accomplishments. The difficulties of adjusting to nature’s moods in performing outdoors arouses humility and devotion.

Sitar Niketan student ensemble presented devotional musical offering for the Gandhi Jayanti in 2015. It was the first time Indian classical instrumental presentation Sitar Niketan takes pride in being the first and only sitar school in the USA that has been presented at the Millennium Stage at The Kennedy Center in 2017. In October 2021 a guru-shishya (teacher student) lecture was presented at the Gandhi Center. Sitar Niketan also had the honor to perform at the Embassy of Bangladesh to celebrate the Victory Day of Bangladesh on December 16, 2021.

Charitable fundraisers have been important past projects for the school. Sitar Niketan thinks deeply important to resonate positivity into the world like sitar does. Sitar Niketan gives students the opportunity to have their music do that. Sitar Niketan held student fundraising concerts in 2020 and 2021, raising money in the fight against COVID-19. Sitar Niketan has displayed strength in devotion and determination in continuing classes overcoming the extreme difficulties of teaching a complex instrument like sitar online.

“I have been fascinated with sitar since I was a teenager, but I was able to start learning it much later in life that I finally could started to study sitar under Guru Alif Laila. Now, I am proud and confidant advanced sitar student under my guru’s thoughtful and patent guidance. It is never too late to start sitar at Sitar Niketan.”

- Uwe Wolfe, Sitar Niketan Student

Sitar Niketan sees itself as part of a larger community. Pre-COVID we regularly participated in live performances at local community events, and introduced neighbors to the sitar's ethereal sound, giving information about its rich history. Sitar Niketan soon hopes to give the community that sound again.

Sitar has an amazing spiritual quality. Although only a single part of Indian classical music and the musical world , Alif Laila considers expanding students’ artistic knowledge a key goal in teaching sitar. Sitar Niketan has worked on various collaborative performances with both professionals and students.

Alif Laila performed a free virtual performance titled “Celebrations of a Journey” with Julian Naimon in August 2021. Julian, a classical cellist was studying at a Michigan music conservatory when they performed. They intended to express the different phases experienced in celebration of life.

- Malabi Venkatesan, Sitar Niketan Student

Future Projects of Sitar Niketan?

Sitar Niketan considers its students' needs in all its planning. Organizing tributes to honor student’s significant life events as an example. We consider the creation of pupil connections important to Sitar Niketan’s community. The planning of student group practices is a highly encouraged activity. Playing together is both an educational and connective experience for students.

Sitar Niketan students remain at the forefront of all the school’s endeavors. The mission to enlighten others about sitar remains a priority. Aspirations Sitar Niketan creates instill the hope of echoing sitar’s message into the world. Reaching out to the community via lecture demonstrations and student concerts will be in focus in 2022 and expand onwards into larger presentation to inspire the young and the old.

An essential part of spreading knowledge lies in preserving it. Sitar Niketan soon hopes to begin archiving all the music notes and materials received by Sitar Niketan Alif Laila’ from her guru Ustad Mir Qasem Khan. Guru Mir Qasem, passed on meticulous handwritten notes to Alif. The loss of such musical knowledge and beauty would be a tragedy. The preservation of his wisdom ensures his essence will continue resonating in music.

The blending of different cultures needs to be celebrated. That statement is especially true with music. The mixing of Indian and Western music possesses great beauty. The different musical foundations of both schools have inherent obstacles when seeking to create collaborations. Sitar Niketan hopes to start a project to make the process easier. In the near future, Sitar Niketan will begin transposing Indian classical sitar compositions to Western sheet music.

The oral tradition of Indian music and the differences in scale can make playing Indian classical difficult for western classical musicians. The transfer of ragas onto western sheet music will give people a fairly accurate approximation of the songs. Sitar Niketan performances can have increased accessibility for western musicians unfamiliar with Indian classical music. Most importantly this project will spread the beauty of Indian classical music in exciting new ways.

Sitar requires commitment to master but only a love of music to appreciate it. Guru Alif hopes to begin a three month annual program open to music students soon. Guru Alif will provide them with a fundamental knowledge of sitar and Indian classical music during that time. We hope Indian classical music serene resonance will inspire students with new ideas and ways to play music.

Sitar Niketan believes everyone deserves to learn about the rich and complex history of Indian classical music/performing art. It is a history that few people are familiar with in the western world. The disbursement of its sound increases amity in the world. Once COVID-19 settles down further planning can begin to develop a lecture series dedicated to them. Guru Alif would guide these educational opportunities. These lectures would tell listeners about India’s various arts, legendary musicians instruments, and their rich history. Visual aids and videos would provide context along with live musical demonstrations. Whether or not it brings new students, teaching and spreading the resonance of Indian classical music makes the world a better place.