Music and Dance from Chhandayan Pittsburgh

24 years old, was initiated into Hindustani classical music at the age of six. After initial training under Shri Anant Heggar Hegde, he received vocal lessons and early inspiration from the sarod maestro Pandit Rajeev Taranath. By the time he was nine, Nishant was already imbibing the art of raga elaboration and taan creation. When Taranathji moved to Mysore, he entrusted Nishant to Vidushi Lalith J. Rao, doyenne of the Agra-Atrauli Gharana. With Lalithji’s caring, encouraging and astute guidance over the past fourteen years, Nishant has blossomed into a delightful performer with confidence and skill in raga vistaar, layakari and bol banaav, in line with the Agra tradition.

 

At 18, Nishant was among the youngest in the country to have received the prestigious NCPA

Hindustani Vocal Scholarship 2016-17, awarded to outstanding vocal musicians 18 to 30 years old. He was one of the top 16 Hindustani vocal finalists in the All-India competition Naad Bhed 2013 -14 for under 26. Nishant has won many inter-school and state-level music competitions and received the Rotary Young Achievers’ Award from Rotary Club, Bangalore in 2015. With several solo and group performances with Guru Lalith J Rao under his belt, his first studio recording was released in 2013 in an Audio CD “The Legacy Continues” as part of an album titled An Agra Gharana Heritage Collection. He has contributed to the recording of several compositions of Padma Bhushan Ustad Khadim Hussain Khan for an archival project hosted on the website www.namansajanpiya.com. He has also contributed to several recordings of prakars of Kedar and Kanhadas for an NCPA archival project.

 

Nishant is one of the students covered under HSBC's Support A Guru scheme by NCPA Mumbai since the year 2019. Nishant is also an avid Kathak dancer, with over twelve years of training, He graduated with a B.Sc. in Biology from Azim Premji University, Bangalore in 2020 and is currently pursuing his PhD in Systems Biology from the University of Pittsburgh.

Neelesh Nadkarni was initiated into Hindustani vocal music in Bahrain at a young age by Shri Vasant Marathe. Subsequently, Neelesh self-learnt to perform on the harmonium under his mother's guidance. Neelesh refined his style of accompaniment and solo performances under Pandit Sudhakar Deoley in Bahrain and, under Pandit Rambhau Bijapure in Belgaum, Karnataka. He has accompanied many classical vocal artists in US and India.

 

Asish Sinha is a student of Pt. Samir Chatterjee of the Farrukabad gharana. He is the coordinator for the Pittsburgh chapter of Chhandayan music school. He is also a founder of the Saptak Music School where he teaches tabla and promotes Indian music among the younger generations. He accompanies many US and international visiting artists on a regular basis. Asish is a Metallurgical Engineer by profession, but he has a great love for tabla.

 

Janhavi Gangisetti is a freshman at Fordham University studying global business and finance. She developed a great passion for dance at a tender age and has always been an enthusiast for this beautiful art form. She started learning Bharatnatyam dance under the tutelage of Guru Srimati Nandini Mandal when she was 5yrs old. Janhavi has attended Bharatanatyam master classes under Guru Sri.Kalamadalam Venkitt, Padma Vibhushan Dr. Sonal Mansingh, and also attended dance workshops by various other renowned dancers. She completed her Bharatanatyam Arangetram in 2019 and now continues her journey to enhance her knowledge of Bharatanatyam and learn other dance forms.