The Aliso Viejo university is billing the event as ‘the largest gathering of Indian classical musicians on the West Coast’ and calling it ‘a cultural symphony.’
Unless you’re from India, you might never have heard of a “tabla,” a percussion instrument from the Indian subcontinent.
Yet, an entire weekend-long festival built around the art of solo tabla performance has originated right here in Southern California. It was launched seven years ago and, barring the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021, it’s been brought back annually since then.
Called “The Festival of Tabla,” and known as “FOT,” it’s coming back to Orange County for the second time. Soka University in Aliso Viejo is hosting the event, over July 27 and 28, with the 1,032-seat Soka Performing Arts Center as its site.
What, exactly, is ‘tabla’?
To be clear, the tabla is actually not one but two instruments, a pair of hand drums that originated in North India in the 18th century. Since then, the tabla has been the principal percussion instrument in Hindustani classical music.
Rupesh Kotecha, who co-founded the Festival of Tabla with his wife Mona, defined the tabla as “a hand percussion instrument which has a bass side called the ‘bayan’ and the smaller counterpart which is called the ‘tabla.’ Together they are referred to as the tabla.”
Kotecha reports that the tabla “dates back at least several hundred years if not more and is the most prominent instrument in North Indian music. There is hardly any music (from India) without the use of this instrument.”
The tabla is versatile. It can be played solo, in accompaniment with other instruments and vocals, or as part of larger ensembles.
Why Build a Festival Around the Tabla?
Kotecha told Culture OC “the idea came to mind that there should be a multi-day festival around the art of tabla solo performance, as it has so much repertoire that can be presented to larger audiences.”
A tabla player himself, Kotecha had become frustrated at not being able to perform tabla solos in front of larger audiences and thereby show the instrument’s depth and range. The tabla “was not given the platform that it deserved and was mostly regarded as an accompaniment instrument.”
That frustration served as a key motivator in the creation of a weekend-long event.
“Historically relegated as accompanists, tabla artists rarely get the opportunity to present their art in front of a receptive audience.”
FOT’s concept, Kotecha said, was that “the tabla would be the focal point of the festival, but also other instruments, vocal music and dance and visual arts would be incorporated into the programming.”
He sees the festival as the outgrowth of “small Indian classical music house concerts which had taken place” in Southern California “over the span of nearly 40 years.”
The event’s goal was and is that those who attend “experience, in a two-day musical gathering, all of the arts of India like never before.”
How the Festival Has Expanded
The festival was first held in 2017 at a loft on 3rd Street within Pomona’s Arts Colony, then repeated a year later at the Chinmaya Mission in Tustin. It moved to Norwalk for 2019, was on hiatus during the pandemic (2020 and 2021), then returned to Norwalk’s Sanatan Dharma Cultural Center in 2022 and last year.
The size of the talent roster and number of attendees grew from 19 artists and more than 220 audience members in 2017 to a peak of 52 performers and attendance of more than 500 in 2022.
Kotecha reports that though the talent roster for last year’s FOT was scaled back to 32 artists, more than 600 people flocked to the festival.
Renée Bodie, Soka Performing Arts Center’s general manager, said she first heard about the event when Rupesh and Mona Kotecha contacted her a year ago.
“From that moment, I recognized the festival’s extraordinary nature, given the caliber of musicians they have featured in the past. Soka is honored to host this event, which consistently presents the top artists in Indian classical music – particularly tabla – and is a festival that is highly regarded in the community.”
Soka’s advertising refers to FOT as “a musical tapestry woven with threads of tradition and innovation,” calling the event “the largest gathering of Indian Classical musicians on the West Coast” and dubbing it “a cultural symphony.”
PHOTO 1: Sitar player Seema Gulati at the 2023 FOT. PHOTO 2: Pandit Shashanka Bakshi, left, on tabla and Paul Livingstone on sitar at the first Festival of Tabla, held in Pomona in 2017. PHOTO 3: Kamaljeet Ahluwalia playing the santoor at FOT 2017. PHOTO 4: Eight-year-old Irvine resident Arjun Prasad played the tabla as the opening act for the 2023 grand finale. Photos courtesy of Festival of Tabla/Nilesh Patel
One of Just a Handful Worldwide
Rupesh Kotecha defines his brainchild as “totally unique, as it has brought together artists from all over the U.S., England, India, Canada, Mexico and many other countries. The festival promotes very talented youngsters as well as grand masters on the same stage.”
He said that only “a very few Indian classical music events around the world span multiple days.”
The Saptak Festival and the Sawai Gandharva Festival, held in India, and the Darbar Festival, in England, “are probably the closest to what the Festival of Tabla is.”
Kotecha notes that among all of these, Saptek, in Gujarat, India, is the most famous. It runs 13 days, and he said last year it hosted 125 top performers who delivered more than 50 performances.
Kotecha noted two more key festivals, both in North America – one in Canada, one here in Southern California.
The Indian Summer Music Circle in Canada, he said, celebrates the food, music, arts and culture of India.
The Music Circle, based in Pasadena, is “one of the longest-standing Indian classical music organizations in California.” Started by Harihar and Paula Rao in 1973 and co-founded by Ravi Shankar, this company, Kotecha says, had “several festivals over the years and featured top-class artists.”
What to Expect in Aliso Viejo
The Festival of Tabla traditionally wraps things up with a grand finale on Sunday night, during which a young artist is featured as the opening act.
This year at Soka, that young star is 7-year-old Vigneya Sastry, who’ll present a tabla solo to the violin accompanist of Pratyush Goberdhan.
The featured grand finale artist is Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri, whom Kotecha said is “considered one of the greatest living legends of tabla” and “one of India’s most celebrated tabla maestros.”
Those of Indian heritage, Kotecha said, can gain “the depth of Indian classical music, and especially showcasing the tabla in a solo performing spotlight,” from attending the event.
“Here at the festival, not only Indians but folks of various cultural backgrounds walk away with a sense of deeper appreciation for the variety of art forms presented over the two days,” Kotecha said.
And what will those who aren’t of Indian heritage, or who are unfamiliar with the culture of India, gain from attending?
“Everyone who has been to the festival in the past,” Kotecha said, “has been completely taken aback by the amount of positive energy that surrounds the festival and the musicians.”
“This music is so vast and so deep, it has touched the hearts of many, regardless of color or origin. All who attend FOT gain a strong sense of community and inclusivity, gaining some sense of knowledge of the depth of the various art forms within Indian classical music.”
Festival of Tabla
Where: Soka Performing Arts Center, Soka University of America, 1 University Drive, Aliso Viejo
When: 10 a.m. - 11 p.m. July 27-28
Admission: $78-$153 for Saturday or Sunday, $145-$288 for two-day pass
Contact: 949-480-4278, festivaloftabla.com or soka.edu/soka-performing-arts-center
Highlights of the 2024 Festival
This Year’s Tabla Festival, By the Numbers
Renée Bodie, quoted in this story, is a member of the advisory board for Culture OC.
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