Restoration – The Exchange – Mothers of Tabla, by Seema Lisa Pandya in collaboration with Veronica Simas de Souza Rosas 2024 “There is no history of women playing tabla” is a common patriarchal narrative often directed at contemporary female tabla musicians in South Asia. Ghungroo (bells) from a Kathak dancer and a reclaimed tabla drum head, enriched with hundreds of hours of rhythmic touch, come together sculpturally to re-embrace a time when female practitioners of tabla and Kathak pursued their art in unison. This piece is part of a larger multidisciplinary body of work made in collaboration with Veronica Simas de Souza Rosas, titled “Mothers of Tabla” based on de Souza’s groundbreaking research uncovering the buried history of women’s centuries-old contributions to South Asian percussion arts. Let the lineage of music be restored.

Accompanying digital video features Kathak dance by de Souza and tabla player Deepa Paulus in the Islamic wing of The MET. Video shot and edited by Seema Lisa Pandya. Reclaimed wood, reclaimed tabla drum head, reclaimed ghungroo bells, wood stain, digital video. 25” x 11” x  3”