State's only tabla institute keeps traditional beat alive

Every evening, a quiet neighbourhood in Kathriguppe comes alive to the beats of tabla played by students — from as young as six to passionate 70-year-olds.

The locality is home to Kallur Mahalakshmi Tabla Vidyalaya, an institute dedicated to teaching and promoting the art of tabla. Founded in 1985, it is the only institute dedicated to tabla in Karnataka.

The illustrious institute was founded by Pandit Rajgopal Kallurkar in Dharwad in 1985 to help promote the art of tabla at a time when Hindustani classical music was still in its nascent stage in the state. The institute is rooted in the traditional Guru-Shishya Parampara and follows a dedicated curriculum.

Kallurkar hails from the Farrukhabad Gharana and has been a disciple of Pandit Girish Awathe and Tabla Nawaz Ustad Shaik Dawood Khan.

The institute was shifted to Bengaluru in 1997. “Through this institute, I want to popularise the art of tabla which is integral to musical compositions. Tabla has rich musical heritage and I am here to pass it on to my students. The emphasis is on perfecting the instrument and not just passing exams,” Kallurkar says. The institute gets people who enrol alongside their children.

‘Medium that unites’

“We have a lot of women who are learning the art.  We have people from all walks of life and across all ages learning and playing together. I believe music is a medium of uniting people, it does not divide. We offer scholarships to underprivileged students who are passionate about learning the art,” Kallurkar says.

Thousands of students have gone on to become tabla players and perform at various events in Karnataka and across India.

Some of the noteworthy students who have made a name for themselves in the music scene are Roopak Kallurkar, Adarsh Shenoy, Karthik Bhat, Datta Joshi among others who give tabla performances across the world.

Kallurkar also offers tabla classes over Skype to students based in the US, Australia, Canada and other countries.
The institute will ring in its 32nd year by hosting the Annual Tabla Festival along with presenting ‘Layshreekamala’, an award citation that will be given to tabla exponent Pandit Raghunath Nakod as a recognition of his contribution to the field of tabla. The festival will be held on May 20 and will include musical jugalbandi by sitar, violin and tabla artists.