Music Technology & Sports Junction

SURESH ISHWAR WADKAR (born 7 August 1954) is an Indian playback singer. He performs in both Hindi and Marathi films.He has sung songs in some Bhojpuri films and in Konkani.

Back in 1968, when Suresh Wadkar was barely 13, Acharya Jialal Vasant entrusted him with a student to initiate in Tory to teach before you appear for your graduation in music through Prayag Sangit Samiti, because there “Prabhakar” certificate is equivalent to B. Ed. and it authorizes you to teach professionally. Guruji made every child studying for Senior Diploma, to sit in the class of 1st year with an experienced teacher and learn the process of “teaching”. Suresh successfully completed his “Prabhakar” and joined “Arya Vidya Mandir, Mumbai as a music teacher. A lot of famous “stars” of today had the opportunity to learn from him.

Acharya Jialal Vasant, announced during his felicitation function organized by his students on May 1985. He said, “We continuously talk about the benefits one enjoys when one is blessed with a good Guru. But let me tell you, that every Guru looks for at least one student, who can take his torch forward. I have been, I must say, very fortunate to get ‘the’ student; I have always looked for in Suresh. I am fully confident that he will leave no stone unturned to accomplish what I desire the most – to attain excellence both as a singer & a teacher. I feel that my mission is fulfilled.”

He has a music school in Mumbai, India (www.ajivasan.com) and New Jersey/New York, USA (www.sureshwadkarmusic.com) where methodical training is given to students.

Suresh Wadkar added a new chapter in his Music life when he started the First Online Music teaching school "SWAMA" (Suresh Wadkar Ajivasan Music Academy) under Ace Open University.

Though groomed for Indian classical music, he entered the Sur-Singar competition in 1976. Wadkar won the competition which was judged by composers from the Indian film industry includingJaidev. Jaidev later offered him the song "Seene Mein Jalan" in the film Gaman (released in 1978). He also performed in the film Paheli (released 1977).

At the time, Lata Mangeshkar was so impressed with his voice that she strongly recommended him to film personalities including Laxmikant-Pyarelal, Khayyam and Kalyanji-Anandji. Laxmikant-Pyarelal, impressed with his voice, soon recorded a duet with Lata "Chal Chameli Bagh Mein" for Krodhi (released in 1981). Soon after, he was given the opportunity to perform for songs in Hum Paanch, Pyaasa Sawan ("Megha re Megha Re") and above all, his turning point in films - Raj Kapoor's Prem Rog (released in 1982).after that Wadkar Sang many songs under R.K. Banner and he offenly gave his voice for Rishi Kapoor for Heena, Prem granth, and Rajeev Kapoor for Ram teri Ganga Maili he used to sing specialy for Rishi kapoor in Numerous film Bol Radha Bol, Vijay, and other song

Suresh Wadkar has for the first time sung a song in the upcoming Tamil film Kanden Kadhalai. This film is an adaptation of the Hindi Blockbuster Jab We Met. The song is a ghazal type song called "Naan Mozhi Arindhaen".

He has sung numerous devotional songs in various languages.

In 1996, Wadkar sang Channeache Rati among several other songs in Rajendra Talak's Konkani album Daryachya Deger with Asha Bhosle.

Wadkar is married to classical singer Padma. He has two daughters, Ananya and Gia.

VIJAYALAKSHMY SUBRAMANIAM is an eminent Carnatic music vocalist. As a student and performer of classical music for over three decades, she has performed extensively in India and abroad since the age of twelve. She has conducted numerous workshops and lecture demonstrations on the various aspects of Carnatic Music. She has presented papers at international conferences in many countries over the last decade. She is a serious researcher of music. In June 2007, she brought out a book “Apoorva Kriti Manjari” – a collection of twenty rare compositions of the Trinity of Carnatic Music. The book has notations in English and Tamil by noted musicologist S. Balachander and the audio has been rendered by Vijayalakshmy. A doctorate in music, Vijayalakshmy was awarded the prestigious Fulbright Visiting Lecturer Fellowship in 2010. As part of the programme, she taught the subject ‘An Introduction to Indian Music’ at the Duke University, North Carolina, USA, as a visiting Fulbright fellow (Aug – Nov 2010).

Vijayalakshmy Subramaniam started her training in Carnatic Music at the age of five under K. Padmanabhan, a disciple of Harikesanallur Muthiah Bhagavathar from the Swati Tirunal Academy,Trivandrum. She learnt detailed aspects of manodharma sangita or improvisation under the guidance of guru Sangeeta Bhushanam K Krishnaswamy of Annamalai University. Her gurus also include Vidwans S.Rajam, T. R. Subramaniam and V. R. Krishnan.

VANI SATEESH is a Carnatic vocalist.

Vani Sateesh was born in Bangalore, Karnataka. She hails from a family of Carnatic musicians going back many generations. Her Great Grandfather Mundarigi Narasimhachar 1855-1940 (belonged to Haridasa Parampara of Vijaya Dasaru, a prominent Haridasa of Karnataka. Her Grand Father Mundarigi Raghavendrachar (1896-1944) was a musician well versed in many disciplines of music and was a professor of music at Queen Mary college in Chennai (contemporary of Prof P. Sambamurthy). Her father, Sangeetha Kala Ratna (awarded by Bangalore Gayana Samaja) Bellary. M. Venkateshachar is a carnatic classical vocalist and her uncle Bellary M Sheshagiri Achar was a Vaggeyakara (composer of lyrics and music). Her uncle and father were known as 'Bellary Brothers' and performed in most parts in India during 1950's and 1960s. The recent lineage of five generations popularly known as 'Vishesha Parampara' spans over 130 years. Every generation has been actively involved in teaching, performing, composing and spreading fine arts knowledge in many remote parts of Karnataka. Thousands of students have come in contact with this family and many of them have put themselves into fine arts service in their own way. It is impossible to fathom and estimate the impact created by this family over the last century in promoting carnatic music.

Vani Sateesh initial training was under the tutelage of her uncle Bellary M. Sheshagiri Achar. She later learnt from her father Sangeetha Ratna (conferred by Bangalore Gayana Samaja) Bellary M. Venkateshachar and then from her brother Bellary M Raghavendra. She is currently under the tutelage of Padmabhushana Sri P.S.Narayanaswamy, direct disciple of Sangeetha KalanidhiSemmangudi Srinivasa Iyer.

Vani started performing at a young age. Her first concert was at the age of 10; since then she has gone on to give numerous concerts in reputed Sabhas both in India and abroad. As a performer, she concentrates on all aspects of performances including intonations, stage presence, building rapport with accompanying artists, connecting with audiences etc. In her earlier days, she gave numerous tala vadya concerts. She has also performed many jugalbandi with known Hindustani Classical musicians. Vani Sateesh is an "A" grade artist of All India Radio and a "B High" Graded Composer of All India Radio. She has completed her Master in Music from University of Mysore and also has received Indian Government Scholarship for Young Artists.

ANUPAMA BHAGWAT (born 1974) is an Indian sitar player.

Bhagwat was born in Bhilai, India. She was introduced to playing sitar at the age of nine by her uncle. Bhagwat trained under R. N. Verma of theMaihar gharana and traveled to Bhilai at the age of 13 to train under Bimalendu Mukherjee of the Imdadkhani gharana. She performed for All India Radio beginning in 1994 and was awarded a national scholarship by the Indian Ministry of Human Resource Development.

Bhagwat performed in India and the United States. She is based in the United States, and married. Bhagwat continues to train as a sitarist and listens to Indian classical singers to improve her technique.

PALANI SUBRAMANIAM PILLAI (1908–1962) was a well known Carnatic music percussionist. He was adept in playing the mridangam and kanjira. He was the sishya (disciple) of the celebrated Palani Muthaiah Pillai (his father).

Subramaniam Pillai was born on April 20, 1908. He was born to his mother, Unnamulai Ammal, and his father, Muthaiah Pillai who was also a mridangist. He learned mridangam under the tutelage of his father and also had the friendship of ‘Thavil Panchami’ Malikkottai Panchapakesa Pillai. He was also influenced by a renowned mridangist at the time, Dakshinamurthy Pillai. Pillai in return showered great love and affection on young Palani, whom he looked upon as his own son. Before he turned twenty, Palani had the good fortune to accompany stalwarts like Kanchipuram Nayana Pillai, Mazhavarayanendal Subbarama Bhavathar and Mudicondon Venkatarama Iyer. In the next decade others who preferred his accompaniment were Chittoor Subramanya Pillai and importantly Alathur Brothers whose Guru (father of Alathur Subbier), Alathur Venkatesa Iyer was a great admirer of Palani. It was because of Palani that the brothers shifted base from Trichy to Madras and they made a great team. Palani is credited with composing a larger number of major pallavis for the brothers including their tempo and nadai variations. Later the team broke up (due to personal misunderstandings) much to the grief of a large number of listeners and especially Venkatesa Iyer. Iyer managed to effect a reconciliation after a decade of extensive effort and Palani did team up with the brothers but the old camaraderie was gone.

As Palani's playing in the early part of his career was robust and laya-oriented with extensive calculations, many vocalists of the time did not feel comfortable with him except for the few mentioned earlier. It was one of the most popular among the doyens of yesteryears, Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavathar (earlier responsible in advancing the careers of Mysore T.Chowdiah andPalghat Mani Iyer) who took to promoting Palani. There were numerous concerts in which he gave Palani opportunities to play three of four "Thanis" or solos in a concert. It is said that in a concert in Shanmukhananda Sabha in Bombay he asked Palani to play in each of the five nadais, Chatusram, Tisram, Misram, Kandam and Sankeernam. It was he who also persuaded Palani to tone down on the laya intricacies and increased the "sowkya" or aesthetic content in his playing. Palani, probably with considerable regret in having to shed his specialization and scholarship abided by his mentor's suggestion, not only because of the practicality but also because of his great respect for Chembai who was his elder by several years. Bhavagathar's advice stood Palani in good stead.

Eminently popular vidwans G. N. Balasubramaniam, Madurai Mani Iyer, and Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer clamored to have him accompany him in their concerts. Of course senior vidwans of that era like Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar, Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer, Chembai and Dwaram Venkataswamy Naidu ( Violin Solo ) had him as accompanist in many concerts. In turn Palani encouraged a number of younger vocal and instrumental artists including Dr. M. Balamuralikrishna, Ramnad Krishnan, M. D. Ramanathan, K. V. Narayanaswamy, Tiruvarur Namasivayam, Thanjavur Thyagarajan, Lalgudi Jayaraman and Palghat R. Raghu. While playing for younger artists he was never condescending but was always supportive and never tried to show off or intimidate. In fact although he possessed talents of gigantic proportions, he never indulged in exhibitionism and his only aim was to enhance the total appeal of the concert. Madurai Mani Iyer used to call him "THYAGI"- one who would efface himself so that the overall effect was sparkling rather focus on himself.

While Palani would highlight the different parts of the song such as "Eduppus" of Pallavi, Anupallavi, and Charanam with sufficient emphasis, he would rather follow the mood and trend of the song rather play the "Prayogas" of the songs themselves. This mode of playing gave a wholesomeness to the song renderings rather than the "Starts and stops" that would otherwise have arisen. His Sarvalaghu was the spontaneous flow of "Nadais", "Sollus", and "Sollukkatus" rather than any patternised formats. The Sarvalaghu used to be "Amorphous" rather than "Crystalline". Occasionally when certain arithmetic combinations arose, they too were spontaneous and blended seamlessly into the scheme of things. He specialized in "Vallinam" and "Mellinam" strokes in even the smallest passages. In layman's language these are Hard and Soft Strokes. His playing gave the effect of his indulging in a musical conversation with the main artist throughout the tenure of the concert. In his Solo interludes-"Thani Avarthanams"- he displayed both intellectual and aesthetic aspects in equal measure which pleased all sections of the audience but he never played to the gallery. The vocalist had to remain very alert during the "Thanis" to ensure that he did not miss out on the "Thala"; such were the complex patterns he played! When Palani was present in a gathering there was no levity or frivolousness exhibited. According to Vidwans who shared the platform with him in concerts both his demeanor and playing was the epitome of "Gauravam" (Dignity).

His lifestyle in the 40's and 50's was the envy of other musicians. Always dressed in white muslin shirts and snow white Khadi Dhoti - carefully and painstakingly groomed - he was among the handsomest among musicians (others being GNB and Mayavaram Govindaraja Pillai ). Unlike many other musicians, he lived in a spacious Bungalow and owned the latest model in cars (he changed them every two years ). He himself drove the car and did not allow anyone else to drive his car.

Palani's partner in life was Rajammal (who along with her sister constituted a popular singing duo called 'Kolar Sisters' in her younger days). The pair had a daughter named Vimala. She married Srinivasan and they had five daughters named Banu, Malathi, Meera, Geetha and Vasanthi. They were brought up by Rajammal after the death of Srinivasan.

At any given time at least three to four students resided in Palani's house undergoing Gurukula system; with passage of time there were day-scholars also. Among the earliest disciple of Palani were T.Ranganathan (brother of T.Balasarswathi) along with Ramanathapuram M.N.Kandaswami, Poovalur Venkataraman, Dandamudi Rammohan Rao, Pallathur C.T.Lakshmanan, Udumalai T.Mayilswamy among others. Perhaps the most famous of his disciples is Trichy Sankaran who lives in Toronto, Canada and teaches in York University as a Professor in the Music Department. Palani took him under his wings when he was a child; Even at the tender of twelve Palani enabled him to play with him (double mridangam) in concerts of Ariyakudi, GNB, Madurai Mani Iyer and others. Among his later disciples were Erode Gururajan, Madirimangalam Swaminathan, K.S.Kalidas, Cuddapah Krishnamoorthy, A.V.Ragguprasad, T.V.Gurumoorthy and many others. In turn, his disciples have trained many others and the Palani School is now well represented in India and abroad.

The founder of the 'Pudukkottai School of Percussion', Mamundia Pillai introduced Kanjira as an instrument in concerts; His disciples Dakshinamoorthy Pillai and Muthiah Pillai could play a large number of instruments like Mridangam, Kanjira, Thavil, and Ghatam. In their steps, Palani was also a GREAT Kanjira vidwan besides being a master of Mridangam. He has played with vidwans like Palghat Mani Iyer and Ramanathapuram C.S.Murugabhoopathy. His Khanjira performances were fewer(compared to Mridangam) and listeners thronged to these concerts whenever they occurred. Compared to the double headed Mridangam with its rich tonal quality, the single headed Kanjira with its limited tonal quality is more difficult to handle but Palani equaled or even excelled in duets with the best mridangists. Some of Palani's disciples have emerged as vidwans proficient with both instruments ( among them M.N.Kandaswamy and Palattur Lakshmanan).

At the behest of his father Palani erected a shrine on the Samathi of Mamundia Pillai at Pudukkottai in 1945. Till he died in 1962, Palani performed Gurupooja each year at this Samadhi on Mamundia Pillai's death anniversary. This is the day preceding the Aradhana of Saint Thyagaraja (which falls on Bagulapanchami day). After Palani's death his disciples took this over and also initiated the Gurupooja for Palani across different places in Tamil Nadu (M.N.Kandaswamy in Chennai, Udumalai T.Mayilswamy in Coimbatore, etc.).

In Kerala Palani ‘s disciples are Mavelikara Krishnan Kutty Nair and Mavelikara S. R. Raju. Palani always cared his deciples like his own children and had a special care for Krishnankutty Nair. Mavelikara Raju after retirement from All India Radio lives in Trivandrum and teaches many students.

BHAJAN SOPORI (born 1948 in Srinagar, Kashmir) is an Indian instrumentalist. He is a player of santoor, an ancient stringed musical instrument.

Sopori hails from Sopore in Kashmir Valley and traces his lineage to ancient Santoor experts. He belongs to the Sufiana gharana of Indian classical music. His family has played santoor for over six generations. His first public performance was at a conference organised by Prayag Sangeet Samiti & the University of Allahabad when he was 10 years old. Sopori's son Abhay Rustum Sopori is also a santoor player. Both father and son have given several performances together.

Pandit Bhajan Sopori has taught music at Washington University, US. His performances have been broadcast in India and seen by both cultural associations there and by audiences in countries such as Belgium, Egypt, England, Germany, Norway, Syria and the USA. Pandit Sopori, considered as the cultural link between Jammu and Kashmir and rest of India, also runs a music academy called SaMaPa (Sopori Academy for Music and Performing Arts), which is actively involved in promoting Indian classical music. SaMaPa is involved in promoting music with jail inmates, with the objective of using music for healing the prisoners and creating an emotional bond between the society & the prisoners. The academy has trained several musicians and revived old instruments. It was presented the state government dogri award in 2011.

Sopori was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1993 and the Padma Shri in 2004. In 2009 he was honoured with the Baba Allaudin Khan Award. He was also awarded the M N Mathur award in 2011 for his contribution to Indian classical music. His other awards include the Jammu and Kashmir State Award, the National Flag Honour of the Arab Republic of Egypt, Delhi Ratna Award, Delhi Telugu Academy Award, Beenkar Samman, Sangeet Vibhuti Award and Sangeet Ratna Award.

JACK ROSE (February 16, 1971 – December 5, 2009) was an American guitarist originally from Virginia and later based in Philadelphia,Pennsylvania. Rose is best known for his solo acoustic guitar work. He was also a member of the noise/drone band Pelt.

In 1993, Jack Rose joined the noise/drone band Pelt with Michael Gangloff and Patrick Best. The trio, sometimes joined by friends including Mikel Dimmick and Jason Bill (also of Charalambides), released more than a dozen albums and a handful of minor releases primarily on the VHF Records and Eclipse Records labels as well as the band's own Klang imprint. The group toured steadily in the U.S. and referenced the work ethic of the Grateful Dead in the title of their album Rob's Choice. Notable tourmates included Harry Pussy,Charalambides and the Shadow Ring and opened for Sonic Youth. In Pelt, Rose played a variety of instruments, primarily electric guitar. During the late 90s, Pelt began to play acoustic folk-derived material, and Rose began to perform on acoustic guitar. Byron Coley wrote a feature on the group for the magazine The Wire, calling them "the Hillbilly Theater of Eternal Music." In late 1999, when Rose was fired from his job at a coffee shop and was able to collect unemployment insurance, he concentrated on acoustic guitar playing and developed rapidly. He first released two CD-Rs, Hung Far Low, Portland, Oregon and Doctor Ragtime, which featured a mix of country blues andragtime. These releases were composed of original and traditional songs, including covers of songs by fingerpicking guitarists John Faheyand Sam McGee . His first proper full-length, Red Horse, White Mule, (named after brands of moonshine mentioned on a best-selling sermon of the late 20s, "The Black Diamond Express Train to Hell" by Rev. A.W. Nix) was released on vinyl by Eclipse Records in 2002.

Jack Rose was a prolific recording artist in his relatively short solo career, with albums, EPs, and compilation tracks on no fewer than ten record labels. He gained a new level of public exposure upon his inclusion on Devendra Banhart's sold-out Golden Apples of the Suncompilation in 2004.

Rose's first three consecutive releases on Eclipse Records—Red Horse, White Mule (2002), Opium Musick (2003), and Raag Manifestos(2004)—were met with praise by critics and contemporaries alike. "Finally," said Ben Chasny of Six Organs of Admittance, referring toOpium Musick in an interview with Pitchfork, "somebody has something to say on the acoustic guitar that hasn't been said before." 

Raag Manifestos was named one of 2004's "50 Records of the Year" by the UK avant garde music magazine The Wire in January 2005, following a feature on him in issue #241. Rose's rise in popularity in the UK during that time coincided with his Peel Session on May 20, 2004.

In 2005 he released Kensington Blues on Tequila Sunrise records. Featuring ragtime, ragas, country blues and lap steel, the record earned high marks from Pitchfork and Dusted Magazine. "Kensington Blues is a really hard record to live up to," Rose told Foxy Digitalis in a 2007 interview. He went on to express doubts about some of his other material released around that period of time. "With everyone putting out so much stuff, I mean you’ve gotta have new product all the time, it's kind of a drag," he continued. "I hate to sound like a total capitalist here... but when you’re on tour you need to have something to sustain you."

His recorded collaborators outside of Pelt were infrequent but include Jason Bill of Charalambides, Donald Miller of Borbetomagus, Glenn Jones of Cul de Sac, Ian Nagoski and Keenan Lawler. In 2008, he reunited with Pelt members and other musicians including Micah Blue Smaldone on his album Dr. Ragtime and His Pals.

He released two live LPs on Three Lobed Recordings, I Do Play Rock And Roll (2008) and The Black Dirt Sessions (2009), receiving positive reviews from Brainwashed and Pitchfork. TheWooden Guitar compilation on Locust Music was issued on vinyl for the first time in 2009 and almost immediately went out of print.

With the exception of his first two CD-R releases, all of his music has been available on vinyl, often in limited editions. His Dr. Ragtime 78, for example, was produced in an edition of only 6 copies, with one selling for $500 as part of a benefit auction on eBay. Some of his more popular releases such as Kensington Blues have been re-pressed on vinyl in open editions.

Jack Rose and The Black Twig Pickers, his ninth LP, was released in May 2009. An appearance on the 7" compilation Meet the Philly Elite and a tour-only 7" on the Great Pop Supplement followed.

Rose died on the morning of December 5, 2009 from an apparent heart attack. He was buried at West Laurel Hill Cemetery in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania.

Luck In The Valley, Rose's final LP, was released posthumously on February 23, 2010 by Thrill Jockey Records. The record was the third installment of what Jack self-deprecatingly referred to as his “Ditch Trilogy.” The album received an 8.2 on Pitchfork and featured Glenn Jones, Harmonica Dan, and pianist Hans Chew on most of the session.

In late April 2010, Three Lobed Recordings curated and released the digital compilation Honest Strings: A Tribute To The Life And Work Of Jack Rose, with all proceeds going to Rose's estate.

Rose's final recording, an electrified 4 song collaboration with D. Charles Speer & The Helix called Ragged and Right was released on June 15, 2010 as part of Thrill Jockey's singles club. The EP was recorded at Black Dirt Studios with Jason Meagher.

Rose's compositions were mostly for 6-string guitar, 12-string guitar, and Weissenborn-style lap steel guitar. He often employed open tunings.

He was compared to guitarists on the Takoma label from the 1960s, including American primitive guitarist John Fahey, Robbie Basho and former Vanguard recording artist and eventual touring partner Peter Walker.

Rose cited Charley Patton, Blind Blake, John Fahey, Robbie Basho, Zia Mohiuddin Dagar and, in later years, Link Wray as influences.

AHMED JAN THIRAKWA KHAN was an Indian tabla player, commonly considered the preeminent soloist among tabla players of the 20th century, and among the most influential percussionists in the history of Indian classical music. He was known for his mastery of the fingering techniques and aesthetic values of various tabla styles, technical virtuosity, formidable stage presence, and soulful musicality. While he had command over the traditional tabla repertoire of various gharanas, he was also distinguished by the way in which he brought together these diverse compositions, his reinterpretation of traditional methods of improvisation, and his own compositions. His solo recitals were of the first to elevate the art of playing tabla solo to an art in its own right in the popular mind. His style of playing influenced many generations of tabla players.

Thirakwa Khan-sahib was born to a family of musicians in 1892 [this year of birth is contested by a number of scholars and students of Hindustani classical music; e.g., Kumarprasad Mukhopadhyay in his "Kudrat Rangibirangi" in Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh state in northern India. Although his early musical training was in Hindustani vocals and the sarangi, his interest in tabla was aroused when he heard Munir Khan. He became Munir Khan's disciple at the age of 12. For a long time, he played in the court of the Nawabs of Rampur and during this time, came in close contact with the maestroes of Agra, Jaipur, Gwalior and Patiala gharana - both vocalists and instrumentalists. On very few occasions, he rendered Bandishes in his own voice but this was only in the company of extremely close compatriots and admirers.As an accompanist, he was equally loved respected and admired by his peers, elders and juniors all of whom were not from the schools of classical music. One noteworthy artiste in this category of admirers was the great Rabindrasangeet exponent Suchitra Mitra (1924–2011).

The name Thirakwa is not actually his original name, but was an epithet he earned from his guru's father. One day, while watching him practise, his guru's father remarked that he played so well his fingers seemed to be "shimmering" on the tabla. This earned him the nickname thirakwa (shimmering). It is also rumored that his tone was similar to the thunderous cracking sound of lightning. A great lightning is sometimes described as "thirakwa". In popular jargon, Ahmad Jaan Thirakwa is termed as the "Mount Everest of Tabliyas". He performed at regular intervals in almost all the music conferences in various parts of the country and gained popularity as well as admiration. A connoisseur of biryani and kababs, Ahmad Jaan was famous for his interpretation of the wide-ranging patterns of the beat-cycles which he liberally taught to his disciples.A few number of his live recordings are now available in audio-visual form that include excerpts from his different programmes over the years and which also provide glimpses of his mastery over percussion.

Thirakwa was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1954 and the Padma Bhushan in 1970.

Nayan Ghosh was born in Mumbai, Maharashtra to the legendary Tabla Maestro Padmabhushan Pandit Nikhil Ghosh, the founder of Sangeet Mahabharati. His father was also an accomplished vocalist and sitar player.

He was trained by his father in both sitar and tabla, and practiced under the watchful eye of Ustad Ahmedjan Thirakwa, who lived with them for many years towards the end of his life in Mumbai. Nayan Ghosh began giving solo performances at the age of 4, and was touring the world with his father by the age of 18.

After he became comfortable with both the sitar and the tabla, he invited his father's first guru, Pt. Jnana Prokash Ghosh to help him decide which instrument to continue with. After two weeks of listening to Nayan Ghosh play both instruments, the conclusion was that he should continue with both until the choice became easier. However till today, in spite of repeating this exercise twice more, the choice hasn't become any easier. Pt. Nayan Ghosh has been an A grade artist on All India Radio in both the sitar and tabla categories for over 25 years, and has performed with nearly every major Indian Classical Musician. Over the years he has performed, lectured and taught extensively across the length and breadth of the Indian sub-continent and in capital cities of Europe, UK, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the Far East.

 Nayan Ghosh is one of the best performers of the traditional tabla repertoire of the Farrukhabad style.

He has accompanied many of the all-time greats, such as Pandit Ravi Shankar, Pandit Nikhil Banerjee, Ustad Vilayat Khan and Pandit Buddhadev Das Gupta.

Presently he is also working as guest music professor in Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, where he teaches tabla, sitar and vocal music.

SASKIA RAO-DE HAAS (born 1971) is a virtuoso cellist and composer from the Netherlands based in New Delhi, India. She is married to the sitarist Shubhendra Rao.

Saskia was born in Abcoude, the Netherlands in a family of music lovers. Saskia studied cello under the Hungarian cellist Tibor de Machula and went on to do a Masters in Ethnomusicology from the University of Amsterdam and the Conservatory of Rotterdam where she studied under Hari Prasad Chaurasia and Koustuv Ray.

She first came to India in 1994 where she studied Indian music under Dr. Sumati Mutatkar at the Delhi University. Subsequently, she has also been tutored by Pandit D.K. Datar, Pandit Deepak Chowdhury and Pandit Shubhendra Rao.

Saskia Rao de Haas has performed at a number of traditional festivals, such as the Dover Lane Conference in Kolkata and the Harvallabh Sangeet Samelan in Jalandhar.She has also performed at the ‘Vasanta Habbha’ in Bangalore, the ‘Maihar’ festival and the ‘Haridas Sangeet Sammelan’ in Lucknow. She has also performed at numerous international venues including the Kennedy Centreat Washington, D.C. and the Esplanande in Singapore. They are also scheduled to play at the Opening Ceremony of the Commonwealth Games at Glasgow in 2014.

Saskia is acclaimed for bridging the Western and Indian classical music traditions. She is an accomplished Western classical cellist, plays folk music from Eastern Europe and has composed music for dance, film and theatre. Rao-de Haas composed music for the dance group Raga Mala and created an Indian string quartet in her piece 'Mukhani'. She developed, together with Shubhendra, a collection of pieces for sitar and cello with percussion under the collective name 'East marries West'.

Saskia's contribution to Hindustani classical music through the Indian cello, an instrument fashioned out of the cello to enable it to be played in Indian classical concerts. The Indian Cello was fashioned by the violin maker Eduard van Tongeren with five playing strings and ten sympathetic strings. It is smaller in size than its western counterpart, thus enabling Saskia to sit on the floor while playing it. The addition of an extra playing string on a higher octave and the ten sympathetic strings further enriches the tonal quality of the Indian cello.

Saskia married sitarist Shubhendra Rao in 2001. They have a son, Ishaan and live in the C R Park locality of New Delhi.