For today’s Noontime Concert on The Classical Network, you had better pack a lunch. We’ll be bypassing the deli in favor of Delhi. The Akshara Music Ensemble will perform classical Indian music-inspired works, on a program given at the Downtown Concert Series in Freehold, NJ, this past May.

Founded in 2008, the award-winning Akshara is a pioneer in crossover music rooted in the Indian classical genre. Tune in for the distinctive sounds of the bansuri, the mridangam, and the tabla.

The Downtown Concert Series is presented at Freehold’s historic St. Peter’s Church. This season’s opening concert, a recital by pianist Janice Carissa, will take place on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. For more information, visit downtownconcertseries.org.

Following the noon broadcast, we’ll hear works on Indian themes, including Karl Goldmark’s “Sakuntula Overture” (after the Mahabharata), Gustav Holst’s “Choral Hymns from the Rig Veda,” and Wilhelm Stenhammar’s “Chitra,” inspired by the writings of Rabindranath Tagore.

We’ll also explore the opulent and distinctive sound world of pianist-composer Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji, born in Greater London, whose father was a civil engineer from Bombay.

John Foulds moved in the opposite direction, arriving India in 1935. There, he labored tirelessly to fulfill his vision of a synthesis between Eastern and Western music.

All of these artists were sincere in their admiration. I’ll do my best to sidestep any whiff of imperialism.

It’s an imaginary passage to Indian this afternoon, from 12 to 4 p.m. EDT, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.

PHOTO: Original crossover artist John Foulds, with members of his Indo-European Orchestra