How musician Aditya Prakash Turned Immigration Politics into Music
Published on: Jan. 24, 2026, 10:39 a.m. | Source: The Indian Express
Musician Aditya Prakash’s 2023 album Isolashun and his theater project ROOM-i-Nation explore the intersection of identity, immigration history, and social justice through the lens of Carnatic classical music. Inspired by the disconnect between the "glorified" rhetoric of American immigration speeches and the harsh reality of xenophobia, Prakash juxtaposes traditional ragas with political commentary on detention centers like Angel Island and the January 6th Capitol attack. His work is deeply informed by his personal tension of being marginalized as a minority in the US while simultaneously holding upper-caste privilege within the Carnatic music tradition. By engaging with the "messy" history of his art form—guided by mentors like T.M. Krishna—Prakash moves away from rigid ideas of "purity" and "refinement" to create a sound that addresses contemporary crises, ranging from systemic racism to climate change.
