October 16, 2000 UCSC's burgeoning South Asia arts programs get boost from new endowment By Barbara McKenna Talat and Kamil Hasan Nawab Hamid Ali Khan, ruler of the state of Rampur, India, in the early 1900s, was well known for his love and patronage of the arts. Now, halfway around the world and three generations later, the great-granddaughter of this respected Nawab and her husband are carrying on that tradition, providing funding that will substantially expand the performance and instruction of Indian classical music at UCSC. The couple are Silicon Valley entrepreneurs Talat and Kamil Hasan of Saratoga, California. Their gift of $350,000 establishes the Kamil and Talat Hasan Endowed Chair in Classical Indian Music, which provides ongoing annual support for UCSC's flourishing programs in Indian arts. "Indian classical music is a remarkable art form," said Kamil Hasan. "It stands out from popular music because it not only pleases the mind and senses, it goes much deeper. It's important to us to do our part to keep this tradition flourishing. We think UCSC is the right place to establish this endowment, both because of its proximity to Silicon Valley, which is the location of a large Indian American community, and because of the sincere commitment of Chancellor Greenwood and Dean Houghton to create a major program in classical Indian arts and South Asia studies." "We hope this endowment will do two things," said Talat Hasan. "First, that it will plant seeds for a center for Indian cultural studies, supporting not just music, but dance, drama, and the visual arts. And, secondly, that it will make these arts more widely available to future generations of students, including Indian American students. This is a wonderful tradition that traces back hundreds and hundreds of years, and it really needs to be nurtured and preserved." (Read more about Kamil and Talat Hasan) "We are honored that the Hasans chose our campus as the home for their gift," said Chancellor Greenwood. "Thanks to their generosity, UCSC can take an important step forward in its commitment to fostering the study and performance of the arts of India. We now have a total of $600,000 in endowment funding to support Indian classical music at UCSC, which lays an important cornerstone in our long-range plans to develop a thriving center for South Asia studies here." This new endowment is the Hasans' second gift to UCSC. The couple were also donors to the $250,000 Ali Akbar Khan Endowment for Classical Indian Music, established last year (other contributors were Sid and Anu Maitra, Arjun and Kiran Malhotra, and Shiv and Kiran Nadar). That endowment enriches courses in Indian classical music and has led to the presence on campus of Ali Akbar Khan, considered to be one of the world's greatest living musicians. Khan was named Distinguished Adjunct Professor of Music at UCSC in September 1999. Since his affiliation with the campus, Khan has taught a class in North Indian music and presented a public concert here. The Khan Endowment has special significance for Talat Hasan, who, as a young girl, heard stories of Khan's father, the legendary sarod master Ustad Alauddin Khan, who, along with many other famous artists, was a resident musician in her grandfather's palace for many years. The relationship created through the Khan Endowment carries on a tradition created halfway across the world more than a century ago. "South Asia studies at UCSC really gain momentum with the establishment of the Hasan Endowed Chair," said dean of arts and professor of music Edward Houghton. Houghton announced that, in response to the Hasans' gift, he is committing funding in the Arts Division that will support courses in the arts of India and will also lead to a full-time teaching position in Indian classical music. This position comes in addition to the activities that the new endowed chair will support. Initially, the position will be filled by distinguished visiting faculty members, and will be in place by fall 2001. In recent years UCSC has increased its programming in the arts of India as part of a planned curriculum expansion in South Asia studies. This academic initiative supports new curriculum, research, conferences, and distinguished visitors focusing on such diverse disciplines as history, economics, the arts, and sociology. Associate professor of history Dilip Basu, who chairs the South Asia Studies Initiative Committee, said, "The gift from Kamil and Talat Hasan is a splendid contribution to South Asia studies at UCSC." "Many Indian American entrepreneurs are endowing chairs and supporting other educational endeavors in this area," Talat Hasan said. But, she noted, "Most of us have been fortunate to make our money in technical fields, so we tend to support technical endeavors much more. Kamil and I felt that there weren't going to be many people whose first thought was supporting the arts, so we thought we should try to take a lead in that area. We hope this endowment will inspire others to think about this cultural heritage and to expand it to other disciplines and other cultures of India, to preserve this very beautiful and ancient heritage." Return to Front Page