Indian Classical Music has crossed the oceans to reach far-off shores. And many Indian musicians are ensuring this journey. Tanmay Bichu is a name that is associated with tabla. This accomplished tabla player is known for his work in Indian Classical and World Music across India and the US.
The yrar 2024 saw him charm listeners with his tabla performances in major events including a sold-out solo Kathak performance with Smt: Shambhavi Dandekar, a collaboration with Pt. Raghunandan Panshikar in Pune, the Ustad Ali Akbar Khan Tribute concert in San Francisco, and the Ashavari Festival in California.
He recently performed at the prestigious BMM Convention in the San Francisco Bay Area with names like Vidushi Ashwini Bhide Deshpande and Pandit Sanjeev Abhyankar. He will also be part of the ‘Melodic Science’ and ‘Mystic Healing through the Vedas’ concerts. Tanmay also has a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Georgia Tech and is a research engineer at Apple in the Bay Area.
Excerpts from the interview:
You performed at the prestigious BMM Convention in the San Francisco Bay Area. How did this happen?
The BMM Convention happened in the San Francisco Bay Area after 25 years. I have been an active member of the Indian cultural activities in the Bay Area since I moved here in 2016. The San Francisco Bay Area was selected to host the 2024 convention in 2022 and the planning began soon after. As soon as the dates for the Convention were finalised, the organising committee reached out to me to block my dates since they anticipated my participation in multiple concerts that would happen. For the performance with Vidushi Ashwini Bhide Deshpande and Pandit Sanjeev Abhyankar specifically, I have been a big fan of both of them growing up. I attended all the concerts that were happening nearby. My dad also had all their cassettes and CDs which I grew up listening to. This will be the first time I play with these artists and I am thrilled to share the stage with them. Just being around such experienced artists and being able to observe them on and off the stage is a big learning experience.
Can you also tell us about ‘Melodic Science’ and ‘Mystic Healing through the Vedas’ concerts?
Both are thematic concerts. Indian Classical Music is viewed as being very spiritual, but there has also been a strong basis of science to this music. Since the connection with science is rarely talked about, we chose to focus on this aspect and educate the audience about the science behind Indian music through the "Melodic Science" concert. Also, since the BMM Convention is happening in Silicon Valley, we thought this might be the perfect audience for such a topic. We did a lot of research on this aspect and will cover multiple topics like how our brain processes music, why there are seven notes in an octave, how posture affects music, etc.
"Mystic Healing through the Vedas" aims to draw parallels between Ayurveda, Indian Classical Music and Indian Classical Dance. Vedas are the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature. They are much more than hymns and prayer; they are a storehouse of profound knowledge, relevant to all ages of mankind. They give meaning to life and contain powerful hidden knowledge that is only now being explored scientifically – they can heal. The roots of contemporary medicine (Ayurveda), Dance (Nritya/Kathak), and Music (Sangeet) are all found in the Vedic period, several thousand years ago. Through this presentation, we try to understand these three inspiring Vedic sciences, learn how closely connected they are, and how deeply they provide healing on all levels.
What made you take up tabla?
I think I get my musical genes from my maternal side of the family, which is a family with a rich Indian Classical Music heritage going back multiple generations. There was always music around me when I was growing up, be it my mother’s vocal practice or lessons or my uncle’s tabla practice or his lessons. When I was a baby, my maternal uncle Shree Vinayak Naik would take me with him for all his tabla lessons and I would sit in his lap when he taught his students. My parents and uncle realised I had a natural calling towards tabla and rhythms when they saw me play rhythms to popular songs on the radio. My maternal uncle started teaching me the Indian Classical tabla repertoire. As I grew up and moved to Pune, I started learning from Pt. Manohar Pimpalaskar. When I went to college, he insisted I start learning from a performing musician to get more adept at the art of performance. So, I started studying with Pandit Ramdas Palsule. I would spend all weekday evenings at his house learning, and practising and then would tag along with him for all his concerts over the weekends. I moved to the US in 2015 and to the San Francisco Bay Area in 2016. Soon after, I enrolled at the Ali Akbar College of Music and started learning from Pt. Swapan Chaudhuri. I continue to learn from him and he has been very generously sharing all the Lucknow Gharana knowledge with all his students. I have also been attending Ustad Zakir Hussain's annual tabla retreat, which also happens in the Bay Area where I have been learning path-breaking ideas and Zakirji's approach to tabla performance and improvisation. Being in the US with this long training and performing experience sets me apart from most other tabla players here. As a result, I have been more actively performing in the US, accompanying almost all the senior musicians travelling from India.
Based in the US, how do you see Americans, both Indians and Non-Indians, taking to Indian classical music, especially tabla?
Music truly knows no boundaries. Indian Classical Music in particular has been a powerful tool for bringing together the very diverse communities in the USA. Great musicians like Pandit Ravi Shankar, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan and my gurus Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri and Ustad Zakir Hussain have dedicated their lives to promoting Indian Classical Music in the West and have drawn a huge Indian and non-Indian population both as an audience and as students of our music. Tabla has now become a leading global percussion instrument. So, there is a lot of interest in both Indian and non-Indian populations to learn the instrument. Since tabla has a long history and a very developed rhythmic tradition, a lot of other percussion instrumentalists also learn traditional tabla repertoire and transcribe it to their instruments.
You have a Master's degree in Electrical Engineering from Georgia Tech and are currently a research engineer at Apple in the Bay Area. How do tabla and Indian classical music and work help each other?
My journey in music has instilled discipline, resilience, and a deep cultural connection, significantly shaping my personal and professional growth. Rigorous training has taught me perseverance while performing for diverse audiences and has enhanced my ability to connect with people. Overcoming challenges like performance anxiety has strengthened my confidence. I think all of these qualities have helped me in my professional career too. Learning from esteemed mentors has enriched my skills and instilled humility. The spiritual aspects of Indian classical music have deepened my cultural roots and personal identity.
Similarly, education in science and engineering has helped me develop a strong problem-solving skill which comes in handy in all walks of life, even music. My rigorous math training from school allows me to navigate complex rhythms easily and also come up with interesting patterns very quickly when improvising, which elevates my music. Understanding technology also allows me to make use of technology, better and enhance the musical experience for the audience. So, I think my engineering and music complement each other very well.
Who are your influences? What kind of music do you hear?
My gurus have been my top influences. Growing up in an Indian Classical music-loving family, there was always classical music playing on the audio system in the house. I have loved listening to Indian Classical Music ever since, be it vocal or instrumental. I also love listening to old Bollywood songs since they have a strong Classical music experience. As I grew up, I also started enjoying the more popular forms of music, I still listen to a lot of Bollywood music every once in a while. Ghazals is another favourite genre, and I love listening to the old masters and the new upcoming ghazal artists. I also enjoy listening to some Jazz, with its strong improvisational style and complex rhythm patterns.
What next in terms of tabla for you?
I am still a young student of music and will continue to learn all my life. For now, I will continue to take lessons from Swapanji and Zakirji as long as I have access to them. I would love to spend some time working on an intersection of technology and tabla in the future. Though tabla has had a long history, there hasn't been much research or work on the science of the. I believe technology can have a great impact on these aspects of the tabla and I would love to spend time working on these. I would also like to dedicate time to teaching and mentoring the next generation of musicians in the future.
