Donald Trump Inauguration LIVE Updates: After Howdy Modi, Indian dhol-tasha group to drum it up at Trump inaugural
When US President-elect Donald Trump decided to move his 2025 Presidential inauguration on January 20 from the West Front of Capitol Hill to inside the Capitol Rotunda and the main inaugural parade to Capital One Arena, an indoor stadium atop Washington Metro due to dangerously frigid temperatures, a group of 30 men and women of Indian origin, who call themselves ‘Shivam Dhol Tasha Group’, were tremendously relieved.
The Texas-based percussion group, which will perhaps be the first all-Indian group to perform at the US Presidential inauguration since its inception in 1789, when the first US President George Washington took oath on the balcony of the Federal Hall in New York, has been concerned about the performance being affected by the Arctic winds sweeping across the US.
The group identifies the enormity of its presence at one of the most significant transitions of power in the world and wants to make sure the performance goes smoothly. “We are used to playing during hot summers in Texas. Washington is dealing with sub-zero temperatures at this point,” says Harish Nehate, an Irving-based realtor who is the group’s co-founder, and plays the single-headed, high-pitched, gong that is part of the traditional drum and snare ensemble.
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