Rendezvous with rhythm: The Mahindra Percussion Festival returns with its fourth edition

India is a rhythmically diverse nation, where every region nurtures and practises its own percussive dialect. To unify this musical spirit, the Mahindra Percussion Festival, organised in association with The Hindu, returns to Bengaluru with its fourth edition on March 7 and 8.

Presenting a curated line-up of artistes across generations, regions and rhythmic expressions, the two-day festival celebrates legendary musicians and contemporary ensembles, besides putting the spotlight on percussion.

Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman’s ‘Nada Pravaham – Circle of Sound’ brings together the Carnatic mridangam with tabla and drums.
| Photo Credit:
B. Thamodharan

“Percussion has always been an integral part of India’s musical culture. Through this festival, we aim to bring together artistes from across the country — each with different identity, yet percussively converging as one singular spirit of India’s evolved musical tradition. It is our attempt to reach out to the next generation,” says Jay Shah, vice president and head of cultural outreach at the Mahindra Group.

Mridangam exponent Umayalapuram Sivaraman.
| Photo Credit:
K. Bhagya Prakash

A highlight of this edition is ‘Nada Pravaham – Circle of Sound — a collaboration between mridangam maestro Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman, alongwith formidable instrumentalists Ishaan Ghosh and Shravan Samsi. 

Tabla artiste Ishaan Ghosh. 
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

“India is known as the land of chants, shlokas and rhythms. The festival brings together different percussive styles. The opening act is a curated set with multi-generational Hindustani, Carnatic and Western classical artistes,” says Ishaan.

Shravan Samsi feels the festival offers space for innovations in rhythm.
| Photo Credit:
Rahul Arora

“The festival not only promotes our cultural legacy, but also caters to contemporary audience. This festival is unique because it is dedicated to percussion and brings together instrumentalists on a single platform,” feels Sivaraman. According to Shravan, the festival also makes space for innovations in rhythm along with showcasing celebrated traditions.  

Mahesh Kale.
| Photo Credit:
Sunil Gabhale

Vocalist Mahesh Kale will strike an unusual note with ‘Yatra,’ which is a tribute to Maharashtra’s bhakti culture. Percussionists will be the mainstay of this performance too.  “Rhythm is not just about sound, but also being in harmony with the inner rhythm. This defines ‘Yatra’ and the pulse of our devotional music. I feel this festival is one of the most apt platforms for this production,” shares Mahesh.

At a time when women have entered the world of percussion, the festival will feature an all-women performance titled ‘Women Who Drum’. It is a groundbreaking collective of women artistes including Swarupa Ananth (tabla), Charu Hariharan (mridangam), Nush Lewis (harp), Hamta Baghi (frame drum), and Shalini Mohan (bass).

‘Women Who Drum’ is an interesting segment that highlights women’s voices in the world of percussion.
| Photo Credit:
Liudmila Jeremies

This ensemble will highlight the female voices in percussion by combining diverse instruments, including tabla, mridangam and harp, to create a contemporary, collaborative sound. “It’s amazing that the festival has decided to feature women percussionists, who rarely get a chance to perform at such major events. The highlight of this ensemble is the collaborative  and creative spirit,” Says Charu.

Nush and Swarupa can’t agree more. “The festival is sure to inspire many youngsters to pursue their musical passion. Apart from bringing to the fore the collective ability of different ensemble, it will also bring to the fore individual skill,” says the duo.

‘The Parai Awakens – Unreserved Live’ by Praveen Sparsh is an ensemble of parai artistes — including Nanbargal Gramiya Kalai Kuzhu, Mylai M Karthikeyan, Dholak Kaccha and Laxman Arvind — highlights the festival’s commitment to amplify every voice within the musical landscape. The act brings one of Tamil Nadu’s oldest folk instruments into the mainstream through reinvention and reclamation. 

According to Praveen, “I see music as existing in two broad forms — one led by lyrics that guide the listener through emotion and narrative, and the instrumental, where the listener’s imagination shapes the experience. Percussion takes this abstraction a step further. It invites both the artiste and the audience into a more open, immersive space of listening. In that sense, a festival dedicated exclusively to percussion becomes a rare blessing — for the artistes to express themselves freely, and for audiences to engage with rhythm in its most expansive form.” 

‘The Parai Awakens – Unreserved Live’, by Praveen Sparsh, brings parai, one of Tamil Nadu’s oldest folk instruments, into the mainstream.
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

The festival will conclude with Grammy-nominated tabla artiste Bickram Ghosh’s ‘Drums of the East’. It integrates diverse instruments and bridges Hindustani classical and contemporary music. Bickram conceived this presentation to celebrate the deep and spiritually charged rhythmic traditions and sounds of Bengal. The show layers tabla, electronic percussion and body drums. The ensemble also includes Gopal Barman on sreekhol; Ranjan De on the dhol; Gokul Dhaaki and team; and Abhisek Mallick on the electric sitar. 

Bickram Ghosh’s ‘Drums of the East’ celebrates rhythmic traditions and sounds of Bengal.
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

“Man discovered the beat before the note. At one point, communication happened through beats when language had not yet evolved. The importance of rhythm in human life is incalculable. If one simply looks at the difference between life and death, it is all about the heartbeat. Everything in this universe is set to rhythm, and being in rhythm is cyclic in nature, such as a 24-hour day, 365-day year and the Earth revolving around the sun. Percussion is healing and joy-giving, because a percussion instrument says a lot about a culture and where it hails from. This festival brings together a kaleidoscope of rhythm and energies into its ambit. It gives the audience an opportunity to see, learn and imbibe India’s rhythmic gamut, which is increasing every day,” believes Bickram Ghosh.

The Mahindra Percussion Festival, organised in association with The Hindu, will take place on March 7 and 8, at the Prestige Centre for Performing Arts, Bengaluru. Tickets on BookMyShow

Published – February 23, 2026 02:59 pm IST