The Benares Baaj Story is an archival project by the Pandit Ram Sahai Sangit Vidyalaya (PRSSV), documenting the history of the Benares gharana (the style of tabla playing that I learned to play). Founded in London in 1987 by my…
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Annual Summer Tabla Workshop 2015
This was the fifth year of my annual summer tabla workshop. Wow! My goal is to continue the tradition of annual workshops begun by my Guru, Pandit Sharda Sahai-ji. He taught 26 annual summer workshops between 1979 and 2008… Read more
Very Long Cat @ ICLC 2015
This past year, I have been working on a new duo project, Very Long Cat, with Hamilton-based multimedia artist David Ogborn. We had previously collaborated with his Cybernetic Orchestra, and enjoyed the process so much that we decided to… Read more
Inspiring Collaboration at the Music Gallery
This past May 16, I had the great pleasure to perform at the Music Gallery in Toronto for what was billed as their last "world music" concert. I was in residence in Toronto for a few days prior to… Read more
Feeling the Resonance
As today is Guru Purnima, this day where we celebrate and thank our gurus, our teachers, for all that they have shared with us, I thought that it would be fitting to talk about Guruji's new album, called Resonance (… Read more
Announcing the Summer Tabla Workshop Scholarship
It gives me great pleasure to announce that a scholarship is now available for this year's annual summer tabla workshop! The scholarship will cover the $300 tuition fee for one lucky student, who might not normally have been able to… Read more
Of Sound, Mind and Body + Gabriel Dharmoo
This past January 25, I played a concert with improv ensemble Of Sound, Mind and Body at the Gesu in downtown Montreal, as part of the Le Vivier season. OSMB is Tim Brady on electric guitar, Helmut Lipsky on violin… Read more
New duo - Very Long Cat!
I'm happy to announce a new musical collaboration with Hamilton-based multimedia artist, David Ogborn - Very Long Cat! The duo rehearses over the internet, with the use of special software that synchronises our performance. The music is improv-based, and… Read more
Concert and Masterclass at William Paterson University
This week, I was invited by Payton MacDonald to give a concert and masterclass at William Paterson University, in Wayne, NJ. We gave a concert with a similar format to those of our mini-tour last fall, with me accompanying… Read more
Last Week in London
Last week, I travelled to London, Ontario to give two masterclasses and a concert at Western University. I was invited by longtime friend and musical collaborator, composer Paul Frehner. Back in 2006, he wrote Ke-Te for me (which appears on…Read more
Tabla Concerto and Dhrupad Week
On November 24, longtime friend and collaborator, percussionist, dhrupad singer, and composer, Payton MacDonald visited Montreal for a very productive and stimulating week of music making.
First, on November 24, we had a recording session of Payton's tabla concerto, Samsara… Read more
First, on November 24, we had a recording session of Payton's tabla concerto, Samsara… Read more
Maritimes Tour
Last week, I packed up my tabla and drove out to the Maritimes for some concerts and workshops. It's a part of Canada that I haven't previously had much of a chance to see, and I'm really glad that I… Read more
Permutations, a tabla player's best friend!
Earlier today, I had a little chat with composer Stace Constantinou on Twitter. He was exploring various permutations of a series of notes; a technique used in serial composition. It got me thinking about how tabla players use permutations quite… Read more
Toronto Weekend in Review
I'm back home after a very busy few days in Toronto. To start off the weekend, on Friday, October 17, I gave a workshop on tabla and North Indian rhythm at the University of Toronto for the percussion area.
That… Read more
That… Read more