Interview with Ranendra Das
Date31 October 2025
Mediumborn digital audio file
DimensionsDuration: 50 Minutes, 46 Seconds
ClassificationsInformation Artifacts
Credit LineCommunity History Project Collection
DescriptionAudio file of interview with Ranendra Das. He was interviewed by Satwik Padhi on 31 October 2025 in Hartford, Connecticut.
Ranendra Das was interviewed as part of the Connecticut Museum of Culture and History's Community History Project discussing moments of change in his life.
During the interview Ranendra Das discusses his connection to music. He talks about how music greatly influenced him when he was growing up. He came to the USA from Bangladesh to study photography in college. Ranendra’s pivotal moment of change came when he met idol Ustad Zakir Hussain, who’s a known tabla player and musician, that helped propel his musical journey in the U.S.
Ranendra's first major artistic achievement was at a significant Bangladeshi association concert at Madison Square Garden. He observed that storytelling was common in Indian folk music and in American genres such as bluegrass and blues, which focus on the experiences of working-class people. He has blended three musical styles together: Indian folk, Western classical, and Middle Eastern influences. For Ranendra, assembling musicians and instruments for performances in the U.S. has become much easier over time. He views constructive criticism as a means of improving his craft and welcomes questions and suggestions that help him grow creatively. Ranendra believes everyone should learn how to play music because it is beneficial for brain development and connecting to different cultures.
Ranendra Das was interviewed as part of the Connecticut Museum of Culture and History's Community History Project discussing moments of change in his life.
During the interview Ranendra Das discusses his connection to music. He talks about how music greatly influenced him when he was growing up. He came to the USA from Bangladesh to study photography in college. Ranendra’s pivotal moment of change came when he met idol Ustad Zakir Hussain, who’s a known tabla player and musician, that helped propel his musical journey in the U.S.
Ranendra's first major artistic achievement was at a significant Bangladeshi association concert at Madison Square Garden. He observed that storytelling was common in Indian folk music and in American genres such as bluegrass and blues, which focus on the experiences of working-class people. He has blended three musical styles together: Indian folk, Western classical, and Middle Eastern influences. For Ranendra, assembling musicians and instruments for performances in the U.S. has become much easier over time. He views constructive criticism as a means of improving his craft and welcomes questions and suggestions that help him grow creatively. Ranendra believes everyone should learn how to play music because it is beneficial for brain development and connecting to different cultures.
Object number2024.79.98
CopyrightIn copyright, Copyright held by Ranendra Das
NotesSubject Note: The Connecticut Museum of Culture and History’s Community History Project (CHP) is a public-facing initiative, focused on contemporary collecting, gathering items of the recent past as well as from events happening today. This program developed community historians to identify, document, and preserve their experiences as residents of Connecticut, and to share these experiences during a series of community presentations. The project focused on the theme "Redefining Moments of Change." Conneticans share stories of people or events who have changed their lives or how they have sparked change in the lives of others.Cataloging Note: Digitization and access to this collection is supported by a Congressionally Directed grant through the U.S. Department of Education.
Subject Terms
- Hartford
- People of color
- Oral history
- Interviews
- Oral narratives
- Men
- Relationships
- Music
- Immigrants
- Folk music
- Indian Classical Music
- Writing music
- Tabla (Musical instrument)
- Interviews and Oral Histories
- Born Digital Audio
- Community History Project U.S. Department of Education grant
- Redefining Moments of Change Collection
On View
Not on view
1 July 2025