SWARA is a home for Indian classical music in Malaysia — a place where tradition is taught seriously, artists are nurtured, and people of every background meet through the arts.
Founded in 2014 by the Malaysian sitarist Samuel J. Dass, SWARA began with a simple conviction: that music and the arts enrich both the individual and the wider community, and that knowledge gains meaning when it is shared. From its base in Petaling Jaya, the centre teaches Indian classical music as a living tradition — preserving its depth and discipline while opening it to new generations.
SWARA is from and for everyone. It is not only an Indian school: its doors are open to Malaysians of every culture and walk of life, in the belief that the arts can help bring a diverse country closer together.
Read our vision →Preserving tradition
Serious training in Indian classical music — its repertoire, discipline and spirit — passed carefully from teacher to student.
Nurturing artists
Students grow through learning, practice and performance, guided by working artists over years, not weeks.
Bringing people together
A meeting place for Malaysia’s many cultures, using music to build understanding across communities.
Samuel J. Dass
Pandit L. Shankar
Prakash Kandasamy
Alagendra Mahendra
Aravind Sharma
