What inspired you to study the art of tabla drumming?
My dad always had Indian music playing in the house, while I was growing up. When I turned 22, I studied abroad in India and took my first tabla lesson. There was nothing written down for me to follow, but instead there was a particular way to sit, to breath, to show respect to the teacher, to concentrate and to use the instrument as a meditative tool. I knew that by studying the tabla, I could learn more about my roots and my culture than I could ever learn by reading a book. How do you use the tabla to inspire social justice and to teach people to think outside of the box? I teach tabla to at-risk kids around the world. I work with poor kids in Calcutta, kids who have grown up in the midst of a religious conflict in Gujarat and juvenile delinquents in Colorado. The children in India learn to concentrate better. Hindu and Muslim children learn how to create music together and become friends in the process. Teens in Colorado learn life-coping skills and learn to appreciate a new cultur
