"HOME IS WHERE YOUR HEART IS..." That's what I read on an important fridge in an important home. The house of the very well known and established musical couple R.A. Ramamani and T.A.S. Mani in Bangalore, my gurus at that time. Each time I read this, a smile came across my face, asking myself in that very moment, where the home of a Swiss Jazz musician may lie. Was it in the middle of Bangalore city, a bustling marauding jungle? And each time the answer I came up with, was: "Home is where my heart is and my heart is always with me." THALI; Vidya Mani is the result of a concentration in highly demanding studies, numerous stage performances and TV appearances of Carnatic Music in Southern India, as well as the musical interpretation by a heart born in the European Jazz scene. Together with a strong ensemble of young and expressive Swiss musicians, THALi brings compositions written in another world back to the homeland. THALi were featured on the CD "Soundz of Lucerne", released through the Swiss label Altrisuoni in 2007 and the group has toured Switzerland and Ireland over the last three years with presence at festivals and venues. Recently we recorded our debut album Vidya Mani (released through the Swiss label UNIT Records September 2010). Statements: The Highlights of this year's festival were a recital by Charlie Mariano of the United States of America on the Saxophone and Swiss artist Sarah Buechi's carnatic classical vocal recital, college vice-principal Karnataka Kalashree Vidushi R.A. Ramamani said while talking to BVT. (Vijay Times, Bangalore) But the find of the evening was Buechi, so absolute was her command over the carnatic ragas that if you closed your eyes and you let your ears guide you, you would have wagered your fortune that she was a true-blue south Indian wrapped in a Kancheepuram saree. (Indian Express, Delhi) This evolving artist is already making inroads in bridging the two traditions, jazz and traditional Indian music, to create an arresting fusion of styles. (Gerry Godley, presenter of radio show Reels to Ragas, RTE Radio 1)