Swati Kanitkar is the founder member of Musikala and a well-known voice throughout the United States. She received formal musical training in north Indian classical but has since branched out into performing semi-classical and popular genres like Ghazal, Bollywood, and Marathi Natya Sangeet. Swati has shared the stage with well known artists including Padmashri Suresh Wadkar. In the late 90s, she performed in the talent show Sa Re Ga Ma on Indian TV and received recognition from maestros such as Ustad Zakir Hussain, Hariharan, and Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt.

Quincy Chett has collaborated and performed with eminent artists in the Indian music industry including Ustad Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Sonu Nigam, Shreya Ghoshal, Sadhana Sargam, the Late Ustad Sultan Khan, Mahalaxmi Iyer, Shweta Mohan, K.S. Chitra, and Vani Jayaram to name a few. His latest song sung with Shreya Ghoshal, Njanum Neeyum, is from the Malayalam movie “Theeram” and has reached over 6 million views on YouTube.

Diptanu Das is a trained Hindustani classical singer. She started learning music at the age of 6, and has performed extensively throughout India and US, earning many awards and recognitions.

Biplob Dutta had his initial training under his father, Shri Poritosh Dutta. He enjoys performing Bengali and Hindi songs, sung by Kishore Kumar and Kumar Sanu. He has been part of many shows throughout the United States.

Dr. Farid Mahmood learned music under Ustad Hamid Hussein in the Baltimore area and is a founding member of Sur Bahar. Despite having a busy professional career as a medical practitioner, he continues to perform in several live shows throughout the DMV.

Vishal Khaparde comes from a family of musicians and has been passionate about music since an early age. He has interest in all genres of music but specifically loves performing Hindi film songs. He has performed widely throughout India and the United States.

Ajit Iyer was trained in the Carnatic percussion instrument, Mridangam, from an early age. He is a self-taught keyboardist. A Pancham fanatic and enthusiast, he is a lead member of Musikala and is in charge of scoring and coordinating the soundscape of the band.

Sundaresh (Sundu) Venkatraman is another regular member of Musikala who plays keyboards and violin. Classically trained in Carnatic music, Sundu has been performing in popular Indian music concerts for many years and has performed with celebrities like Dr. KJ Yesudas, Mano and Sujatha.

Debapriya “Debu” Nayak is a well-known Tabla player who needs no introduction in the DC region. A disciple of Pandit Radha Kanta Nandy and later with Pandit Samir Chatterjee, Pandit Anindo Chatterjee and Ustad Zakir Hussain, he is an established artist both in classical and non-classical genres.

Jay Parikh received his early training in Tabla in India and has continued under the guidance of Pandit Samir Chatterji and Sandeep Modi, as well as from stalwarts such as Pandit Suresh Talwalkar, Pandit Vijay Raghav Raoi etc. He is a popular Tabla accompanist on stage.

Manish (Montu) Hingoo is a much sought-after drummer in the United States. He started playing Bongos when he was just six but switched to playing drums later. He has performed extensively throughout the U.S. and India, particularly in the Gujarati film and TV industry. In addition to Gujarati and Bollywood music, he has also played drums for rock music. He has accompanied many celebrity artists on stage including Md. Aziz, Subir Kumar, and Sadhna Sargam.

Ashish Shanbhag, is an IT professional with a passion for music and photography. He comes from a musical family and initially trained in Tabla before expanding into other instruments. He specializes in electronic drums and loves playing Handsonic, Octapad and Korg Wavedrum. Ashish has been part of several bands in the U.S. since 2003 and has toured with many renowned musicians.

Soumya Chakraverty, is a well-established Hindustani classical musician who needs no introduction. He started his musical journey at an early age with the Tabla before switching to the Sarod. For nearly three decades, Soumya has performed extensively throughout India, U.S, and other countries including Australia, New Zealand, Mexico and Canada. Aside from being a pure classical musician he enjoys collaborating with other genres of music, including flamenco, jazz, latin, African, Ghazal and Bollywood.

Ganesh Jagtap has been working as a percussionist in the Bollywood music industry since the early 90s. At one point, he was going from one recording studio to another, to play and record with celebrities like Jagjit Singh. After moving to the U.S, Ganesh quickly earned a reputation as one of the top rhythm artists for semi-classical and popular Indian music. He has performed on stage with legendary singers like Asha Bhonsle, Suresh Wadkar, Hariharan and Shreya Ghoshal, and is a much sought-after percussionist today.

Tamal Dey is a dedicated and self-taught guitarist whose love for music and desire for composing took to new heights during his college days. He has honed his skills and mastery over the instrument with rigorous practice, covering several genres including rock, country, bluegrass and Bollywood. He enjoys collaborating with musicians, and is a regular performer, both on stage shows as well as on YouTube and other social media platforms.

Tej Kanitkar trained in western classical piano and taught himself to play keyboards, guitar and bass. He has been playing these instruments for the past eight years. He specializes in Hindi film and Ghazal music, often accompanying his mother, Swati on stage and on social media platforms. He has performed both on stage as well as a session recording artist for the past three years. He has accompanied well known celebrities on stage, like Padmashri Suresh Wadkar and Kavita Paudwal.

Shriram Iyer is a young self-taught electric bass guitarist who is a regular performer with his father, Ajit for Musikala and other bands. He is currently pursuing advanced jazz studies at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Madhura Gokhale is a popular actor, stand-up comic, director and producer from the Denver region. She has produced, directed and acted in many Marathi plays in India and the US, performing in different cities like Mumbai, Detroit, Denver and the Bay Area. In addition to acting and stand-up, she enjoys producing and presenting musical programs.