All about rhythm: Government should patronise Indian classical music, says tabla doyen Yogesh Samsi

Renowned tabla player Yogesh Samsi gave a solo performance at the Tagore Theatre on Friday to mark the 150th birth anniversary of doyen of classical music Pt Vishnu Digambar Paluskar. The event was organised by Gandharva Maha-Vidyalaya, Panchkula.

Goa has already made it mandatory that Indian classical music be a compulsory part of education in schools and colleges. This successful model needs to be emulated pan-India.

Samsi feels there is a need for cultural patronage by the government at both the central as well as state level. “And not just Hindustani classical music but also of different Indian art forms, heritage sites etc,” he points out.

Samsi has earlier performed on the tabla with top classical instrumentalists, vocalists and dancers of India like Pt Shivkumar Sharma, Pt Hariprasad Chaurasia, Pt Bhimsen Joshi, Ustad Vilayat Khan and Ustad Amjad Ali Khan.

Having taught over 40 tabla players, Samsi was himself trained intensely under the legendary Ustad Allah Rakha for 23 years. He adds, “Goa has already made it mandatory that Indian classical music be a compulsory part of education in schools and colleges. This successful model needs to be emulated pan-India.”

Meanwhile, apart from Yogesh Samsi, and Aditya Sharma, Vinay Mishra, Rajneesh Dhiman and Adarsh Saxena too performed at Tagore theatre.