Key Points

• Taalim School of Indian Music, on Long Island, is known for teaching students how to play drums called “tablas,” Indian classical dance and guitar.
• 100 students from the school held a tabla performance at Robert H. Treman State Park in Ithaca, NY.
• Indian musician and teacher, Pandit Divyang Vakil, led students with rhythmic compositions in front of the waterfalls.

A Unique Experience

On Saturday, Sept. 22, Indian and American families gathered together to watch a first-time event in Ithaca called “Rhythmic Freefall.”

Coming all the way from Long Island, 100 students from Taalim School of Indian Music, dressed in saris and kurtas, set up their drums, or “tablas,” with Robert H. State Treman Park’s thundering waterfall behind them. The group members ranged from age seven to seventy.

“To actually play music in nature in a communal way is a powerful and unusual thing to do, so that’s kind of what we wanted for the students to experience,” said Ray Belli, one of the school’s students and event organizers.

From his own experience, Belli explained that though he does not play the tabla, he still applies a rhythm of oral composition to his own drums.

“It was just the richness of the language, how you say what you play, and there is this complex grammar, like a poetic system, system of grammar that these rhythms and compositions fit into.”

A Renowned Guru and His School

The crowd applauded as Guru Pandit Divyang Vakil led the students with rhythmic beats.

Guru is short for “guruji,” which means “respected teacher” or “spiritual teacher” in Hindi.

“Our guru is part of an unbroken lineage that goes back 500 years. He has very authentic first-hand knowledge that he passes onto the students. So, everything we learn is the big deal,” Belli said.

Vakil, a guru for 35 years, has thousands of compositions to his name. From this, he was able to form modern classical tabla music.

“He is just brilliant in every way. He is not just a tabla player, he is big in spirituality, life in general,” said Sowmya Reddy, a tabla player.

The Taalim School has collaborated with Vakil since 2005.

Feeling the Music and the Welcoming Community

Sowmnya Reddy and her 9-year-old son, Partha Manikanirka, were one of many Indian families that performed at the event. Although they live on Long Island, the majority of their family is from South India.

“You could feel the music and even with how loud the waterfalls were, you could really feel the base when everybody was playing the same notes,” said Reddy.

Partha said that there were many things he liked about playing the tabla: the sound, playing it fast and its texture. Back home, Manikarnika attends tabla lessons every Monday.

Several performers knew each other from tabla lessons back home, but for many this was the first time meeting each other through the event.

While most students, such as Reddy and her son, are Indian, there are several Americans like Belli. The sharing of the music across cultures has built a connection between people who might not have otherwise crossed paths.

“It’s just like brotherly and sisterly love of being involved in this very special unique thing especially for non- Indians like myself, we were taken in this family with open arms,” Belli said.