Anjan's Arangetram

Anjan’s predilection for percussion first became apparent at age two with his incessant drumming on any available surface whenever he heard Indian classical music being played. When this tendency intensified, his parents enrolled him in more formal, albeit kiddie sized lessons with guru Sri. Ravi Iyer.

Under Sri. Ravi’s patient and attentive tutoring, Anjan’s interest blossomed and his skills slowly began to improve. His training continued for several years. Successively, he trained under Sri. Tiruvarur Vaidyanathan, as well as the late maestro Vidwan Sri. T.H. Subhash Chandran.

Since 2015, Anjan has been training under the expert guidance of Vidwan Akshay Anantapadmanabhan. In this time, he has participated in multiple programs including Sustaining Sampradaya and the Thaka Thakita programs at the Cleveland Thyagaraja Festival. He has also accompanied artists at various concerts in the USA and Canada. He is the mridangist for the South Asia Music Ensemble at the University of Chicago.

Anjan enjoys an eclectic range of interests kindled by his lifelong Montessori education. Alongside music, Anjan is also keenly interested in South Asian history, specifically of the Vedic period, and is an avid student of Vedic literature. He is formally learning select Vedas and Upanishads. He will begin his sophomore year at the University of Chicago, majoring in Economics and South Asian Languages and Civilizations, with an aspiration to study law.

An ambassador of the Indian Classical arts, Akshay Anantapadmanabhan is a senior disciple of Sangita Kala Acharya Sri T.H. Subash Chandran. Akshay began his training with Sri T.S. Nandakumar in Mumbai and later from Dr. Venkat Natarajan in New Jersey. Akshay has performed with the legends of Carnatic music across the globe and also collaborated with Hindustani, Latin Jazz and Rock musicians. As a cross-genre artiste, Akshay is a percussionist for the viral fusion bands Carnatic 2.0 and The Thayir Sadam Project. He is also a thought leader with IndianRaga.   

Akshay holds a Masters in Engineering from The Cooper Union, New York. He has showcased workshops internationally for diverse audiences and authored 16 academic papers on Indian rhythm in journals of music technology. Akshay is a recipient of the ‘Best Mridangist’ award from the Music Academy Madras and has been recognized for pioneering the “spotless mridangam”. He is also an educator of Indian rhythm to students across the globe.