Tabla

So that's why music... is very, very important and a very important part of all the festivals.

Basant, you yourself are a tabla player, right? Tabla player.

Yes.

How old were you when you first became a tabla player, your first attempt at the drums?

He thought, oh, let him come naturally.

So at certain stage, I tried some instruments.

And when I touched tabla, I could feel that, oh, yes, we have something like a belongingness Me and Tabla belonged to each other.

And when I tried it, it just happened.

He was planning to do medicine and ended up doing biology and zoology and became a teacher in Africa.

And then Tabla was kind of the backbone of his hobbies.

And he was also a passionate photographer.

So those two things kind of stuck with me when I was very young, the photography aspect and the Tabla.

So often, you know, before dinner, he'd be sort of doing his riyaz.

He'd be able to whistle the nagma and just keep on playing.

It's not that I'm the main musician, so can I sit in the middle and you sit on the side and you're accompanying.

But that's how it used to be, right? So back in the day, you have to remember that tabla players were left on the floor behind.

It's interesting what little I know about Indian music.

So you think of Indian instruments, right? You think of sitar, that sort of thing, right? Tabla.

But violin is a traditional Indian instrument.

It is considered a traditional Indian instrument because it has been adapted from European culture and sort of repurposed to fit Indian music.