Tabla with Dips aims to give everybody a chance to experience the beauty of the Indian percussion instrument: the tabla. Providing a dynamic learning environment, you can choose the method that suits you best. Whether it is distance learning on the web or attending a group class, as many opportunities as possible are being created for you to engage with this captivating music.
Want to learn just for fun, but unable to travel for an in-person class? Sign up for an online lesson.
Interested in the time-cycles and sounds the tabla can showcase? Join a taal training workshop.
Have some free time during the day and want to know more about the tabla? Daytime webinars offer a relaxed introduction to the instrument.
Interested in receiving formal certification or to progress as a professional? Enrol in the Tabla Diploma programme.
Tabla with Dips offers you a chance to:
- Play the tabla and take part in live concerts
- Learn about classical Indian rhythms and time cycles through oral and hand exercises
- Participate in group classes
- Enjoy tailor made classes just for you
- Attend live online demonstrations and lectures exploring the many facets of the tabla
Meet Dips
The Early years
Deeptarka Mukhopadhyay is a Scottish born, London raised, son of Indian parents who is a full-time tabla practitioner. Since a toddler he has been immersed in music, dance and theatre, in both India and the U.K. thanks to parents with huge passion for these mediums. Part and parcel of his upbringing was seeing the support family and friends provided for Indian culture and arts all around the UK. This led to ample opportunities to learn from and play with travelling artists, contributing to countless live performances in some world-renowned venues, such as The Queen Elizabeth Hall, London. A byproduct of the music was being thrust into a myriad different roles; essentially a guardian to some visitors and a guide to others, these interactions have helped Dips become an excellent communicator.
From Corporate to Community
A glance into the not-too-distant past sees Dips graduate from King’s College London with a BSc in Maths and Management, leading perhaps inevitably to a stint in the corporate world. But he was always involved with one artistic enterprise or another, regardless of where he was employed. Forays into the film industry and the social sector ultimately rekindled the encouragement he had always received in pursuing a life in the arts.
A Chance Visit by Pt. Rajkumar Misra
It was not until a chance visit by Pt. Rajkumar Misra (Pundit ji) to his family home in London that Dips recognised the possibilities in front of him, if accompanied by the correct guidance.
It was happenstance that reacquainted Pandit ji with Dips’ parents, who were childhood family friends. Conversations traversed along common interests of cricket, food from across the globe, family anecdotes from years gone by, but the glue was the shared obsession of the tabla. Pt. Rajkumar Misra, a master exponent of the tabla, represents the seventh generation of a line of illustrious Indian classical musicians and Kathak dancers of the renowned Jaipur gharana style. A music fellow of Trinity College London, Pundit ji remained in the city and has nearly two decades’ experience teaching traditional tabla, mainly from the Farukhabad and Delhi gharanas. Dips was able to shadow and assist in classes, thereby witnessing how newcomers took to the instrument. This has been invaluable to Dips’ own approach to teaching; developing techniques to break down the subject into easily digestible pieces. Dips’ teaching has proven to be successful at one the most well-known Indian school of arts: The Bhavan (Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan) in West Kensington, London. So much so Dips was assigned the task of heading up the new off-campus teaching site in Edgware.
Culmination of Experience
The journey to the current day has been accomplished by accumulating a multitude of experiences, with Dips steeping himself in the traditional methods of training. That he can recreate and deliver these to anyone who wishes to learn means you can all join in on the journey that lies ahead.
Dips has been entertaining crowds on stage since his childhood, showcasing a variety of art forms. Although his classical tabla training started later in life, he carries forward his performative experiences of dance, drama and guitar from his school years. At the age of 15, he learnt dhol from London based Jay Mistry and went on to perform professionally at events such as the Sfinks festival (Amsterdamm,1998), London Mela (1999), Wembley Arena Diwali Show (2004), and many private functions all over the globe.
As well as being a natural performer on stage, Dips has a passion for sharing music. Being part of a Unesco project, ‘Art for Life’, Dips’ charitable work saw him organise a successful UK tour for nineteen folk artists from Gorbhanga, Purulia and Pingla in rural Bengal, India. Endeavours such as this have helped Dips to use rhythm to connect with people from all walks of life.
Dips is also a founding member of Sa Dha Arts, a London based not-for–profit organisation that helps spread awareness of Indian classical music in communities through classes and concerts. With his adaptability to work in different art forms, professionalism in planning events globally, and building relationships with renowned artists, Dips has successfully placed Indian culture at the heart of all his accomplishments. Having absorbed all the knowledge, technique and joy of artistry he has encountered from a variety of musicians, he strives to communicate his music to the widest of audiences.
Content Editor : Rishi Ganguly
Tabla with Dips 