The Podcast for Social Research · The Brooklyn Institute for Social Research

Podcast for Social Research, Episode 92: No Borders: Folk, Fusion, and Tradition — Ghost Peppers in Concert

·1 hr 41 min·2 clips

Burns inspired Tagore 300 years ago. We're the first to perform both in the same song.

Ghost Peppers (Kevin Meehan, Rita Ghosh, Amrita) perform and discuss their avant-garde fusion project blending Indian Tagore songs, Scottish Burns poetry, and global influences (reggae, Pakistani Urdu, Bengali folk). The band's artistic mission is never before performed together—to take Burns poetry that inspired Tagore's compositions and create hybrid musical space. Panel with scholars Sarah Kazmi (UPenn) and Hannah Leffingwell (BISR) explore how diaspora complicates 'sacred' traditions, the role of Tagore in Bengali identity, and borders (geographic and cultural) in contemporary music-making.

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