Unplugged Speech at the 2021 FIUTS Blue Marble Bash

On April 24, FIUTS celebrated our fifth annual Blue Marble Bash! Even though we still couldn’t gather in person, we had an incredible virtual event to raise support for FIUTS programs. (We didn’t quite reach our goal for the event, and you can donate here to help our fundraising teams get there!)

The program included speeches from inspiring students, like the members of Unplugged, who have been a part of our work during this past year. In their touching speech at the Blue Marble Bash, Sairandri, Daniel, Vaidehi, Rishabh, and Mayukha reflect on music, FIUTS, and sharing culture through art!

SAIRANDRI: Until my sixth birthday, I was Saira and I lived in Houston. This was the name given to me by my teachers in school because my birth name, Sairandri, was too difficult to pronounce. After turning 6, I had newly relocated from Houston to Chennai, a Tamil-speaking city in South India. I struggled with the new environment and the fear of rejection of my American accent. To fit in, I carved myself a new identity. I rolled my r’s and went harder on the t’s. Indian art forms replaced their Western analogs. Slowly, Saira became Sairandri (my birth name).

At 17, it was déjà vu. Newly relocated from Chennai to Seattle for college, I struggled with the new environment and the fear of rejection of my Indian accent. To fit in, I carved myself a new identity. I shed my rolled r’s and went softer on the t’s. Western art forms replaced their Indian analogs. Overnight, Sairandri became Saira again.

The transition this time was not seamless. Missing home, I was drawn to Unplugged, an Indian fusion music ensemble started here at UW. Interestingly, Unplugged proved to be a microcosm of India itself. With 1.3 billion people practicing a multitude of religions and languages, India offers an unmatched experience in diversity. At Unplugged, I found friends with roots all over India. I also understood the cultural struggles of Indian Americans persevering to preserve their heritage and identity. Unplugged came to be my lifeline – it served as an outlet for my creativity and musicality all the while keeping me connected to my culture and heritage. 

As a senior graduating from UW in June, when I look back to my experiences at UW, my performances with Unplugged stand out as the most memorable. And these performances include my time on stage at Meany Hall performing for the FIUTS CulturalFest in 2019, 2020 and 2021. 

DANIEL: We’ve had the opportunity to perform at Culturalfest for four years in a row now, and each year we have come away with a deeper appreciation for the diversity of experiences and cultures that students bring to UW. Through the Culturalfest showcase, students like myself have had the opportunity to experience/immerse ourselves in the unique cultural traditions and art forms of others, as well as sharing our own with the greater Seattle community.

VAIDEHI: Whether it's the traditional rhythms and sounds of Japan through Taiko Kai's performances, or stories of love expressed through Sevdah Seattle's dance performances, we have witnessed art forms that we otherwise would not have had the chance to learn about. This year, despite the unprecedented challenges we have faced, thanks to FIUTS’ creativity and perseverance,we have been able to maintain this expression and sharing of culture.

RISHABH: Our usual workflow has always been: we put together arrangements, we rehearse, and we perform them live for events like CulturalFest. This past year, we’ve had to adapt to the challenge of not being able to meet in person or not being able to perform onstage by making recordings for Spotify, Youtube, Instagram, all the digital platforms, as well as virtual Culturalfest. FIUTS has been able to keep their platform going, give us a different audience to reach out to, which I can’t even express how important that has been this year.

MAYUKHA: Music and art can bring people from all walks of life, different cultures and upbringings together, which is seen in Unplugged. We all love music and view our time together every week as a break from the usual hectic routine of our lives. For each of us, music is a way to appreciate our own experiences, and learn from others’ experiences as well. CulturalFest has been the exact same thing, just on a much grander scale. 

SAIRANDRI: We are so grateful to FIUTS for giving us a platform to share our music with others and look forward to other opportunities and collaborations with FIUTS to continue doing the same.