At the 14th Taalchakra festival in Pune, the drums did not wait at the back of the stage. The festival opened on 31 October 2026 at Ganesh Kala Krida Manch in Swargate with Fusion 2026, an evening led by the tabla player Vijay Ghate, who conceived the festival, and it ran on into a second evening on 1 November.
Punekar News describes it as a festival dedicated entirely to percussion. Entry was free on both nights, first come, first served, with listeners asked to register by phone in advance. The Punit Balan Group supported this year’s edition.
What is the Taalchakra festival?
The Taalchakra festival is an annual festival of rhythm and percussion in Pune, conceived by the Padma Shri tabla player Vijay Ghate. Its 14th edition ran over two evenings, 31 October and 1 November 2026, at Ganesh Kala Krida Manch, Swargate, pairing tabla and pakhawaj with Kathak dance, sitar, voice and saxophone, with free entry.
An opening night built on ragas
Fusion 2026 began with three rachnas, or compositions. Vam Sutra moved in an 11-beat cycle, Yogi was built on Raga Jog and Mayra on Raga Yaman. The saxophonist George Brooks then brought three pieces of his own, McCoy, The Outer Sea and Frame Master, the last of them based on Raga Puriya Dhanashree.
The band around them crossed several worlds. Ravi Chary played sitar and Nagesh Adgaonkar sang, with Tanmay Deochake on harmonium and Sangeet Haldipur on keyboards. The rhythm came from Gino Banks on drums, Sheldon D’Silva on bass guitar and Shikhar Naad Qureshi on djembe, while Sagar Patokar handled padhant, the spoken recitation of tabla syllables. Milind Kulkarni compered the evening.
Dance had its own place in the story. The Kathak dancer Sheetal Kolwalkar presented thaat, aamad and tatkaar, the opening stance, the entrance and the footwork, in Taal Roopak. A Ram bhajan in Raga Ahir Bhairav followed, and a piece in Raga Bhairavi led into the closing jugalbandi, a duet in which dance and music answered each other.
Who was on the second night?
The 1 November programme turned from fusion to the tabla’s own traditions. It was billed to open with a solo recital by Sanjay Mukherjee of the Farrukhabad gharana, or stylistic lineage. Anindo Chatterjee, also of the Farrukhabad gharana and a disciple of Gyan Prakash Ghosh, was set for a dialogue between tabla and Kathak with the Lucknow gharana dancer Durga Arya, a disciple of Birju Maharaj, and the tabla player Mukundraj Deo, who draws on the Banaras and Ajrada gharanas.
The pakhawaj, the barrel drum of dhrupad, was given the last word. Krishna Salunke, from the tradition of Nanasaheb Panse, was scheduled to close the Taalchakra festival with Shiv Tandav.
Pune’s festive season has more to come. On 10 November 2026, Arya Sangeet Prasarak Mandal presents Swardiwali, a free Diwali morning concert of Hindustani vocal music at Tilak Smarak Mandir. For another story of new sounds grown from old roots, read how the Gajveena brings a double bass and the rudra veena together, and find more concerts and stories on News & Concerts.
Sources: Punekar News, opening night of the 14th Taalchakra festival (31 October 2026); Punekar News, programme for both evenings (29 October 2026)