A curious cultural link was forged between Calcutta and Melbourne in the nineteenth century when around ninety musical instruments, along with a number of books and pamphlets, were sent by Sourindro Mohan Tagore (1840-1914), as a contribution to the Melbourne International Exhibition in 1881. This eclectic collection of instruments is made up of all sorts of classical and folk instruments from North India, some of which are well known, but a number of which are very rare. The real curiosities amongst the collection are the hybrid instruments that Tagore had constructed, such as the nadeswara vina (half violin and half sitar). The exhibition at Monash University will display these unique and culturally valuable instruments.

Confluence brings a total of 116 shows to Australia, join other free events at http://confluencefoi.com/events/.