Chhandayan Diwali Celebration, A Social Event with Music and Food

This year Chhandayan's celebration of Diwali, the festival of light, will be specially dedicated to dispelling darkness. We would also remember and pay homage to the lost souls and celebrate their legacy, particularly from the field of Indian Music.

We invite the entire community to participate in this program by sharing music, dance and food. Please contact us immediately, latest by August 31st, 2021, at info@tabla.org with your willingness and proposal to participate.

Music will be performed by several young aspiring musicians who perform a crucial role in fulfilling Chhandayan’s mission.

Performance 1: Tabla Solo
Aditya Phatak - tabla,
Anish Dharam - harmonium

Performance 2: Regional Songs
Arnav Pofale - Gujrathi song,
Sayli Limaye - Marathi songs,
Gayatri Phatak - Bengali song,
Manav Khuran on tabla with all artists

Performance 3 - Harmonium Solo
Anish Dharram - harmonium,
Neel Khare on tabla

Performance 4 - Classical vocal
Ayan Rivu Sinha - vocal
Aditya Phatak - tabla
Anis Dharam - harmonium

Performance 5 - Jazz Ensemble
William Schetelich (trumpet), Aditya Phatak (tabla), Rikhav Sanjeev (bass), Dana Saba (piano) and Xander Naylor (guitar) will perform ‘To-I-Light’, ‘Set You Free - Come, Dance With Me’ and ‘Dhyan’.

Aditya Phatak is a young student of Indian music, with special aptitude in Tabla. He started playing tabla at the age of two, even before he was tall enough to reach the drums. He was initially inspired by his grandfather Deepak Phatak and guided by his uncle Shivraj Phatak. Since February of 2008, when he was four years old, he came under the loving mentorship of Pt. Samir Chatterjee in the formal Guru-Shishya (master-disciple) relationship. Eleven years into his talim (grooming), through utmost sincerity and diligence, Aditya qualified to make his entry into the field of performance. His music is certainly worth listening to. Aditya has also been studying Hindustani Classical vocal music with Smt. Rucha Jambhekar for the past ten years.

Anish Dharam is 16 years old. He is an 11th grade honors student at J P Stevens high School in Edison, New Jersey. Anish started learning Harmonium and Indian classical music at the age of 7 under the guidance of Shri Hemant Kulkarni, recently he started his music journey with Shri Kedar Naphade. Anish also learns Keyboard under the guidance of Shri Bobby Chatterjee. He has won several music competitions and awards. Anish has performed at many events here in US, also in Pune and Hyderabad in India. Anish has accompanied many renowned artists from US as well as India including Shri Sridhar Phadke, Vidushi Radha Desai, Vidushi Bharathi Prathap to name a few. He is a fellowship award winner from IndianRaga, an Indian-American organization which connects over 3000 artists globally. Anish also sings in choir and has performed in the 2018 and 2020 All Eastern Junior high honor choir and the 2019 National junior high Honor Choir.

Arnav Pofale has been learning Hindustani classical music from the age of 5 from Smt. Pradnya Jadhav Solat who is a disciple of Smt. Arti Ankalikar ji. Arnav is in 7th grade at Iselin Middle School (IMS). Arnav has participated in many local, state level and international level classical and semiclassical competitions and won numerous awards. He has won the Marathi Vishwa Swardhara Competition several times. He has won the New Jersey state award at Meri Awaj Suno competition in 2019. Along with the singing he is also getting Tabla training from his guru Shri. Suryaksh Deshpande. Arnav was selected by Dr. Saleel Kulkarni to sing in the album Abhijaat’s Bhimrupi song. In addition to music, he is a passionate basketball player.

Gayatri Phatak is 13 years old and has been studying Hindusthani classical vocal music for the past seven years from Smt. Rucha Jambhekar. Gayatri has performed at several cultural programs within New Jersey and has also won accolades in the Marathi Vishwa Swar Dhara competition. Outside of classical vocal singing, Gayatri enjoys singing in the school choir, playing saxophone in the jazz band, playing classical piano, and studying jazz, tap, and ballet styles of dance.

Rikhav Sanjeev is an incoming sophomore at Bridgewater-Raritan High School. He has been playing bass guitar for the past 5 years and has played in a few jazz and rock bands, both in and outside of school. He has also been learning Indian classical vocal music from Pt. Samarth Nagarkar for the past 2½ years. Outside of music, he likes playing tennis, watching sports, and spending time with his family.

Sayli Limaye is a sophomore at South Brunswick High School. She has been learning Hindustani Classical vocal music for the past 11 years from Shrimati Rucha Jambhekar and is now also learning under the guidance of Pandit Vijay Koparkar Ji. She has won various awards in Indian Classical music, including at the Gaan-Nipun Spardha held by the Pandit Jasraj Institute in 2016, the yearly Swaradhara Competition held by Marathi Vishwa, Chaitradhun 2020, and The Dream Voice USA 2020. She has a passion for music, and hopes to continue pursuing it in the future. Along with her interests in vocal music, Sayli also enjoys writing poetry and learning violin.

Will Schetelich is a trumpet player that focuses on jazz and improvisation. He has been playing trumpet for 8 years, but has been exposed to music since he can remember. Will grew the most in working with Jazz House, and grew as a trumpet player and musician there. Will loves being active at the gym, reading, and playing chess. He is committed to Montclair University to study music performance and education.

Neil Khare began learning tabla from his father and currently learns from Shri Amod Dandawate. He has received many awards in the Instrumental tabla solo category and has accompanied several artists in the Tri-State area. Besides his musical passion he enjoys playing and coaching basketball. He is 19 years old and is currently a sophomore in college. He looks forward to continuing his passion for tabla and requests for all of your blessings for his future success.

Manav Khurana is 16 years old and has been learning tabla for the past five years. His initial training was under the guidance of Shri Kumar Raj Gandharva, and he subsequently learned from Sabir Hussain of the Punjab Gharana. For the past three years he has been studying with Shri Dibyarka Chatterjee of the Farrukhabad Gharana, who is the son and disciple of Pandit Samir Chatterjee.

Ayan Rivu Sinha, 21, is a disciple of Padma Shri Honored Pandita Tripti Mukherjee-ji and Pandit Rattan Mohan Sharma-ji at the Pandit Jasraj Institute of Music (PJIM) in the USA. Ayan was initiated into Hindustani Classical Music by his mother, Smt. Nidrita Mitra-Sinha at the age of 5, and has been learning Hindustani Classical vocal from PJIM since the age of 9. He has been fortunate to receive special guidance from his Bade Guruji, Sangeet Martand Padma Vibhushan Pandit Jasraj-ji on several occasions and his blessings are always with him. Ayan was born and brought up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. In 2021 he has graduated from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio with BS degree in Nutritional Biochemistry and a minor in Chemistry.

Also performing with the young performers is Xander Naylor

Since relocating to New York City, native son Xander Naylor has become increasingly known in experimental circles for ear-opening forays with his eponymous, free-jazz trio. On his solo debut, Notes, the son of noted Vermont secessionist Thomas Naylor applies a similarly unchained approach, fleshing out humble, cyclical instrumental sketches with both caution and whimsy. The result, while even less accessible than his previous trio work, is nonetheless fascinating, and it reveals a genuinely independent and curious mind.

Guitarist Xander Naylor is exploding onto the scene with his work as a solo artist, composer and leader of Xander Naylor Sound Machine. Spinning through a diverse set of scenes, he has found homes in free improv, indie rock, experimental jazz and, through his years of study with tabla maestro Samir Chatterjee, North Indian music. His latest solo album, Arc, creates a stimulating mash-up that is both startling and comforting in today's tumultuous world.

Chhandayan Dewali Celebration - Social Event with Food and Music

Our celebration will feature a musical presentations:

Instrumental ensemble featuring Vaughn Stoffey (guitar), Steven Crammer (tabla) and Lily Stern (Bass)

Vocal ensemble directed by Sanghamitra Chatterjee, featuring Meghan Pasricha, Sharda Lowtan, Susan Maxwell, Sofia Ahmed, Aishani Singh and Noelina Arciniegas. Guitar Accompaniment by Xander Naylor.

Also featuring a Vocal Performance by Aratrika Dey

Aratrika Dey

Aratrika was born to music-loving parents who nurtured her interest from an early age. She began her training in Kolkata with Srimati Sukla Nag. Since moving to New Jersey with her parents, Aratrika has continued under the tutelage of Srimati Mitali Banerjee Bhawmik. She has won first place in several music competitions, the most notable of which is the prestigious “SaReGaMaPa Li’l Champs, NA, 2015”, hosted by the South-Asian television channel Zee TV.