Nikhil Paralikar aka The Tabla Guy makes waves with his relatable and trendy renditions
There has been a surge of young musicians picking up Indian classical instruments. Nikhil Paralikar, aka The Tabla Guy, has been making rounds on Instagram with tabla renditions of popular movie songs.
He has also started a collective, collaborating with different musicians across India, blending classical with electronic music to present a fresh sound. We speak to him about what it means to be a artist on social media, the independent music scene in India and more.
Excerpts from our conversation with Nikhil Paralikar
Can you tell us a little about the WeDoWe campaign?
The Smirnoff WeDoWe campaign was all about celebrating inclusivity, self-expression, and most importantly, bringing diverse artistes together through music. Working on this gave me the chance to collaborate with other creative minds and of course, push boundaries. It felt good to be a part of something which promotes unity and individuality at the same time.
Do you think social media is important for independent artists, or does the algorithm lead to just chasing trends?
Social media is definitely important for independent artists. It gives us a platform to share our work, connect with the audience, and most importantly, build a community. But at the same time, the algorithm can sometimes really push the artist to chase trends, which Iโm not a very big fan of. The key is finding balance โ how to actually use the platform to stay true to what you do, and at the same time, how to use the algorithm to engage with the audience or how to stay relatable to them. The pressure of constantly creating content can get to you at times, but its important to be at it if you want to be successful.
For Instagram specifically, aesthetics of the video is as important as the music. Does that distract you from what the focus must be?
Visuals definitely play a huge role on Instagram. Sometimes it feels like the video has to look perfect just for people to even hear the music. It can be a little distracting, but I try to treat visuals as an extension of the sound and not a competition. As long as the music stays the core, I think aesthetics can actually help the full story and it can help us reach to the right audience.
Learning Indian classical arts, whether it is an instrument, vocals or dance, requires immense perseverance and rigour. What kept you going in the initial stages of learning?
My mother introduced me to the instrument and kept me hooked to it. I started learning tabla when I was just five, so naturally it was very easy for me to get distracted, but she made sure that I stuck with it. Later on, it was my guru who kept things very exciting and unique. He had so many unique and creative ways of teaching, that it actually made me curious and excited for the next class. As I grew older and became more rational, it was the tabla itself that started drawing me towards it, the sound, the depth, the tone, the complexity, the knowledge. It became something that I truly connected with.
How is the music scene in India in context of pursuing it as a career?
The music scene is definitely growing and evolving, but pursuing music as a full-time career still comes with a lot of challenges. Thereโs definitely a lot more opportunities today thanks to digital media, but it still requires a lot of hustle, creativity, patience, determination to actually make a sustainable living out of this. Passion drives people, but it also helps to be adaptable and open to different streams like teaching, composing, or collaborating. So, we need to explore different ways of how you can make a sustainable living out of a musical career.