“Music is everywhere in Indian culture, whether you do a marriage ceremony or when a baby is born, you will find it everywhere,” vocalist Debapriya Adhikary said.  

He and sitarist Samanwaya Sarkar are a duo from India that will be backed by Bobby Singh on tabla when they perform in Bega later this month. 

The two have been playing together for 10 years and are the first from their country to combine their musical abilities of singing and sitar to perform together as a duet. 

When you ask Adhikary to describe their sound, he says it is a “pure form of Indian classical music”. 

“We didn’t feel like doing anything other than traditional music as it has a charm and a subtlety,” he said. 

“We also try to play and think about the production of sound.” 

Physically they rehearse together for three to four hours a day, sometimes longer. But mentally they practice almost each and every hour.

“It goes on inside your mind, whether you’re sitting with your instrument or not, it goes on,” Adhikary said. 

While he started singing when he was six, Sakar began playing the sitar when he was four after his father bought one of the instruments with the aim of playing it himself before realising he did not have the time. Instead, his son picked it up. 

As Adhikary and Sakar follow the North Indian style of music, improvisation is a strong feature of their collaborations. 

“It’s like a conversation, you take a topic, choose the mood and improvise on that,” Singh said. 

Singh studied the tabla – a pair of drums – in India the traditional way; starting at the age of seven he had one-on-one oral tutelage from his teacher for 25 years.

The styles of tabla taught by teachers in India can go back thousands of years and once you belong to a style you must stick with it for life.

“While you do have your own flavour, you belong to a longer lineage,” Singh said.   

Singh says the tabla is a versatile instrument that has allowed him to play music from Western classical to jazz and he has shared the stage with acts that include John Butler and Jeff Lang.

He has been drawn to rhythm from a young age.

“It’s something inherent; from your heartbeat to everything that happens around you there’s a rhythm,” he said. 

The duo performs under the title of Debapriya and Samanwaya and they will play with Singh on March 31 at Funhouse Studio at 3 Hill St, Bega from 7.30pm.

Tickets are $20 for adults, those under 15 are free.