Ochin Pakhi is a group of young, enthusiastic, spiritually motivated, fun-loving musicians whose compositions explore various folk songs from West Bengal and Bangladesh. They call themselves "Ochin Pakhi", Bengali for "The unknown bird" and refers to their heart. The phrase was first used by Lalon Fakir (Shah), a prominent Bengali philosopher, mystic, songwriter, social reformer, and thinker, in one of his famous songs, “Khachar Bhitor Ochin Pakhi”.

The performance will celebrate the release of their latest album Praner Alap: Meeting of Hearts on Innova Recordings and celebrates immigrant communities through interdisciplinary performances interweaving music and storytelling. A breathtaking artistic collaboration, the album features innovative arrangements of songs from the poetry collection Gitanjali (Song Offerings) by Bengali polymath, Rabindranath Tagore. 

Published in 1910, Gitanjali was Tagore's groundbreaking collection of Bengali poetry that largely contained lyrics of songs he had composed. Tagore’s English translation of Gitanjali gained popularity in the West and won him a Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913, but the melodies of the songs remained unknown to Western audiences. Praner Alap brings these musical works to life for contemporary listeners through innovative cross-cultural arrangements.

Ochin Pakhi musicians include:

Subhajit Sengupta, vocal; Swarnali Banerjee, vocal; Lucia Thomas, violin and dotara; Sam Hyson, accordion and violin; Molly Greening, cello; Mehtab Kirtan, tabla; Nathan Torrence, percussion and bansuri; and Tzippora Rhodes, percussion and flute.