A Tabla workshop was organised by Sur Productions in association with Chinmaya Vishwa Vidyapeeth (CVV) in Bengaluru on 30 April 2023. The faculty for the workshop, Pt. Abhijit Banerjee (Guru and Professor, School of Kalayoga, CVV) began by introducing CVV. He spoke about how beautiful the ambience of CVV is, and how he had wanted to stay there the first time he was invited to perform before he joined as a faculty.
The group began with some warm-up exercises, practice of some kaydas, tukdas, relas, etc. A keen interest was maintained by Panditji, with the dissemination of information regarding why they are called by these names, etc., how different artists looked at these with different viewpoints, etc. The post-lunch session included question-answer sessions and some more learning.
The workshop was held at Kala Sindhu Academy in Banashankari. 15 students, including our current student Hrushikesh Mahurkar (second year MA Music) and one of our alumni Dipin Das, attended the workshop. Dipin was there to coordinate with the organiser, Sri Venkatesh, for all the arrangements at the venue.
Sur Productions, Bengaluru, is a registered audio label engaged in creating a platform for many art learners of different age groups to explore a variety of artistic possibilities by facilitating teaching through workshops and masterclasses.
The same evening saw a wonderful Tabla recital by Pt. Abhijit Banerjee at the C Ashwath Kala Bhavana in Basavangudi. He was accompanied by his students, Dipin, Venkatesh and Chandrajit. Prior to the concert, which was in memory of Pt. Shubhankar Banerjee, a formal event was held with Pt. Vinayak Torvi and Pt. Pravin Godkhindi paying their respects to Pt. Shubhankar Banerjee in great detail. A beautiful documentary on Shubhankarji was shown, with different artists speaking about his mastery of the Tabla, his playfulness, his kindness, etc. A minute of silence was observed by the audience.
Before Pt. Abhijit began his recital, he spoke to the audience about CVV and the music programmes at the CNBG campus. He also reminisced about Shubhankarji and his friendship with the latter. All in all, it was a great day to remember, for all those involved in the art of Tabla, and especially for those at CVV.