Hailing from the rich traditions of Dharwad, Pandit Kumar Mardur has had his training from his father Pandit Somanath Mardur, a renowned Hindustani Classical Vocalist of Kirana Gharana and a senior disciple of the late Padmabhushan Dr. Basavaraj Rajguru. Endowed with a melodious voice, he is known for pure and aesthetic presentation of ragas, crystal clear taan patterns and command over laya. Kumar has completed his Master’s Degree in Music from Karnatak University, Dharwad. He has received several scholarships and is performing all over the country enthralling audiences. Since 2011, he is working as a Musician Tutor at ITC-SRA. An approved artiste of Akashwani and Doordarshan, Kumar has had numerous performances across the length and breadth of the country, including the Sawai Gandharva Mahotsav in 2011 and a highly successful 3 month USA tour in 2008. The many accolades that have come Kumar’s way include the Padmavibhushan Dr. Mallikarjun Mansur Yuva Puraskar from Dr.Mallikarjun Mansur Memorial National Trust, Dharwad in 2010, Dr.Vasantrao Deshpande Memorial Yuva Kalakar Puraskar 2007 from by Dr.Vasantrao Deshpande Memorial Foundation, Pune; the Vidyasagar Award 2006 from Music Forum, Mumbai; Yuva Gayak Puraskar from Gandharva Mahavidyalay, Pune and 1st prize at several student and youth festivals and competitions.
Pandit Ashis Sengupta is a versatile percussionist of the Banaras gharana. He received his initial training from his father Shri Ranjit Kumar Sengupta and was later groomed by Pandit Nanku Maharaj, Pandit Mahapurush Mishra and Pandit Krishna Kumar Ganguly. Pt. Sengupta has innovated to the various rhythmic compositions learnt from his Gurus and is also blessed with a lot of traditional compositions, Stotras and varieties of Gats from the great Gurus. Both as a soloist and an accompanist to widely varied music styles and performers, he is also an established western drummer to his credit. Apart from playing Tabla, he has composed Bhajans and music arrangements for light music compositions recorded by many reputed audio-video companies. Most recently, he has written a book on Tabla named “Facets of Tabla Playing”, published by Kanishka Publishers, New Delhi. He has traveled extensively all over the globe for his performances and lecture-demonstration on Tabla playing under the aegis of numerous organizations. At present he is a member of the Faculty of Music and Fine Arts, University of Delhi.
Satish Kolli is a popular harmonium accompanist from Karnataka. He is the disciple of the late Pandit Vasant Kanakapur. He is currently under the tutelage of Shri Vyasmurti Katti. He has accompanied various prominent vocalists, supported percussionists with his “Lehra” and also played for movie tracks.