Tabla- Tejas Tope
Tabla -Aditya Phatak
Tabla Manav Khurana
Come join us at the Chhandayan Center for a tabla group performance by three of Chhandayan’s aspiring artists: Tejas Tope, Aditya Phatak, and Manav Khurana. The performance will also be streamed on-line
Tejas Tope
Tejas Tope is an aspiring young Indian percussionist who comes from Long Island New York. Tejas has been learning tabla from Pt. Samir Chatterjee for over 15 years. Additionally, since 2011, Tejas has been attending classes in the Summer with Ustad Zakir Hussain. At Zakirji's invitation, Tejas performed a tabla solo at the Barsi of Ustad Alla Rakha on February 3, 2018 at Shanmukhananda Hall in Mumbai.
Tejas Tope has also been learning Pakhawaj from Pandit Mohan Shyam Sharma for the last 5 years. He has also had the opportunity to study with Pandit Manik Munde and Shri Pratap Awad.
Tejas received First prize in the instrumental category from 2005-2011 at the annual Vedic Heritage’s Holi Youth Talent Competition held in Hempstead, Long Island, NY. In the summer of 2006, he played at the 6th Marathi European Sammelan in Almelo, Netherlands, at the 13th BMM Convention in Seattle (June 2007), and 15th BMM Convention in Chicago (July 2011). In October 2007, Tejas had his Rangamanch Pravesh and presented tabla solo as a part of Chhandayan Concert Series. Tejas received first prize in the Swardhara Competition held by Marathi Vishwa of New Jersey in 2010 and 2012. Tejas is recipient of Chhandayan’s most prestigious Jyotsna Award in the student category in 2011.
Aditya Phatak
A highly sought-after performer of tabla, Scotch Plains native Aditya was initially inspired by his grandfather Deepak Phatak and guided by his uncle Shivraj Phatak. For more than fifteen years, Aditya has been developing his tabla under the loving mentorship of Pt. Samir Chatterjee. Over that time, Aditya has performed at prestigious venues like Carnegie Hall, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Woodstock Drum Boogie Festival, and the BRM "Ragas Live" festival. Notably, Aditya's tabla was featured in the Grammy-nominated song “Abundance in Millets”, commissioned by Honorable Prime Minister Narendra Modi and written by Indian-American singer-songwriters Falu and Gaurav Shah. Aditya is also an accomplished jazz drummer and Hindustani vocalist, having studied Hindustani Classical vocal music with Smt. Rucha Jambhekar, and more recently, under the guidance of Shri Kiran Lele. Aside from music, Aditya is a senior at Columbia University studying Applied Mathematics and Computer Science.
Manav Khurana
Manav Khurana is a talented young tabla player from the Farrukhabad Gharana. His musical inclination became apparent at an early age, and his parents encouraged him to learn Dholak, Piano, and other instruments. As a teenager, he was initiated into the world of tabla by his dholak Guru Shri Roger Sookraj. He continued his study of tabla under Shri Kumar Raj Gandharva and Sabir Hussain of the Punjab Gharana. Subsequently, he began his serious training with Shri Dibyarka Chatterjee at the age of 14. In 2023 he became an initiated disciple (shishya) of tabla maestro Pandit Samir Chatterjee. Manav has already performed with some notable performers of Indian Classical Music including Pandit Sugato Nag, Shri Biplap Mukherjee, Pandit Hindol Chattopadhyay, Vidushi Shahana Banerjee and his Guru Pandit Samir Chatterjee. Outside of music, he is currently pursuing his Bachelor’s degree in Finance.