Pandit M. Venkatesh Kumar is an Indian Hindustani classical vocalist. Born in Lakshmipura, in the Dharwad region of northern Karnataka, he is renowned for his vibrant, classical singing style.

In 1968, when Venkatesh was 12, he was taken by his uncle to the Veereshwara Punyashrama in Gadag (central Karnataka), run by Puttaraja Gawai—the religious saint and Hindustani musician. Venkatesh lived and studied at the ashram for the next 11 years. Under Gawai, Venkatesh learned Hindustani vocal in the Gwalior and Kirana gharana styles.

Born in 1980, Keshav Joshi started learning tabla at the age of eight from Shri R.M. More. After ten years old, he was fortunate to have guidance from the late Pandit Karveer Mallapur, as well as from Pandit Ishwarlal Mishra of the Banaras Gharana.

An educator from Mangalore, harmonium player Narendra Nayak is a disciple of the late maestro Pt. Vasant Kanakapur, and Ustad Rafique Khan. At present, he is also taking guidance from Pt. Vyasmurthy Katti.

Sandip Chatterjee, a disciple of Pandit Tarun Bhattacharya and vocal maestro Pandit Ajoy Chakraborty, is a rich and accomplished Santoor player.

His collaboration, “Calcutta Express,” has been nominated as finalist in the Indo Acoustic Project’s “Best CD’s of 2006” award in the World Music category. Sandip’s abilities have been exhibited through his albums, which range up to 21 in number. His expertise has also been utilized by renowned music directors like A.R. Rahman, Jatin Lalit, Gulshan Kumar, Rabindra Jain, and Pt. V. Balsara.

Debjit Patitundi is a young tabla maestro. He took up the instrument at the age of four, learning first under his father, Amal Patitundi, and then from his father’s guru, Pandit Shankha Chaterjee. Their fruitful decade spent as guru-shishya (master-student) saw Debjit win various competitions—including All India Radio’s tabla competition in 2009—and appear frequently on national TV.