His tabla talks. Sandeep Das makes it talk. His tabla helped him win Grammy nomination twice – in 2005 & 2010. Recognized as a magical tabla player, he is now experimenting-producing beats that lift you, tunes that recharge you and energy that takes care of your longevity. Don’t worry… hear him and be happy.
A disciple of legendary Pt. Kishan Maharaj of the Benaras Gharana, Sandeep has already held concerts at prominent places including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Royce Hall, Royal Albert Hall, The Concertgebouw, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Hollywood Bowl and Petronas Tower Hall. He also performed at the UN headquarters, played at one of the greatest classical music festivals — BBC Proms and is the proud Indian artist to have performed at the Opening Ceremony of the Special Olympics in Shanghai.
Hold on. These days he is collaborating with musicians from all over the world and it’s pleasure seeing him perform with his troupe at the Siri Fort where I sat spell-bound three hours watching Sandeep, Wu Tong, Shane Shanahan, John Hadfield, Christina Pato, Rajesh Prasanna, Anil Chawla and Suchet Malhotra. And they jusssst produced MUSIC. Brilliant. They played everything, touched everything… sang together, stood together. And it was live music.
This Bihar boy who went to St. Xavier’s Patna, Patna College and Banaras Hindu University to earn Gold Medal in English Literature, has been performing since childhood. I am also told that Sandeep has played with every Indian music star, and remains the youngest drummer to be graded by All India Radio — a very impressive resume for someone that young.
You may watch Sandeep and his musician friends perform in the video below. I love him for he, too, keeps smiling, always. Yes, Sandeep. You are right: “As the world passes through a turbulent phase with rising intolerance, violence, terrorism and division among the human beings, the one unifying force that can heal the world is music.”
Neeraj Bhushan 