Hemanth Hariharan

Having learnt tabla from his guru Shri Nawaz Mirajkar of Temple of Fine Arts (TFA), Singapore for over fourteen years, Hemanth has imbibed many aspects of the Purab gharana style of traditional tabla presentation.

Hemanth is a winner of Singapore's National Indian Music Competition 2011 and a two-time winner in the Dhrutam percussion event of Saarang, IIT Madras. After completing his graduation concert (arangetram) in 2016, Hemanth has gotten numerous opportunities to perform with senior musicians in Chennai including Pt. Janardhan Mitta (Sitar) and Vidushi Lalita Sharma (Hindustani Vocal).

Hemanth has performed numerous times in TFA programs, also having had the opportunity to accompany Pt. Pramod Gaikwad (Shenai) on a few occasions. A former member of the IIT Madras Classical Arts Contingent, he also belongs to the family of violin maestro Thirukkodikaval Krishna Iyer and the legendary Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer.

Hemanth completed his B.Tech in Civil Engineering from IIT Madras in 2020 and is currently doing his MS in Sustainable Design and Construction at Stanford University.

Fun-fact/memory: As a freshie in a double-room in Cauvery hostel, I used to practice tabla in the balcony attached to my room on the second floor. One time, I had accidentally left my tabla hammer and powder in the balcony outside. When I came back the next day, I was pleasantly shocked to see that the infamous IITM monkeys had pried open my powder dabba, emptied all of it and thrown away my hammer into the bushes!