Dr. S. A. K. Durga, well known ethnomusicologist from Chennai went on a trip to Cambridge, UK to participate in the Third Biennial International Symposium and Festival on 'Composition in Africa and the Diaspora' held from August 5 to 8, 2005 at the Churchill College, University of Cambridge, England.

She presented a paper on 'Music of the African Settlers in India'. In this paper, she presented her observations and shared her views about the music and musical instruments of African settlers in India in North Karnataka and Gujarat in Southern and Western India.

The paper dealt with music and dance performances in south and western India and explained how the African-Indian’s performances and compositions (songs) are different according to the religion they follow though both are devotional in character. Her presentation included audio-visual presentations of their music besides the talk on their musical instruments and the text of the compositions and brought out how their identity is retained in the African Diaspora in India.

Dr. Durga had a brief stay at London where she delivered an illustrated talk on 'Indian Music after India's Independence 'at the Nehru Centre. This talk highlighted the changes from the pre-independence era in terms of patronage, performance and academic pursuits, correlating the political and socio-cultural changes in India with musical developments.

Professor Emeritus in the Department of Indian Music, University of Madras and the Founder-Director of the Centre for Ethnomusicology in Chennai, Dr. Durga is a qualified ethnomusicologist with two Doctorates from the University of Madras and the Wesleyan University in USA. She won a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Yale University and has published several articles on music-related subjects.

The trip was sponsored by the Indian Council of Cultural Relations and locally supported by the organizers of the Symposium.