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My Kannada handwriting peaked at eight.

Learning the Mridangam, taking a break for JEE, and finding my way back during college.

Written by Abhinav Cillanki

I started learning the Mridangam when I was eight. Music was already part of the family: my grandfather was a professional flutist and a disciple of Flute Mali, T.R. Mahalingam.

Me as a child, seated with a Mridangam across my lap, wearing an orange shirt.
Me with the Mridangam, back in the early days.

My first teacher was Late Vidwan Sri B.K. Chandramouli, a close friend of my grandfather. Classes began with Konnakol—reciting the rhythms before playing them. I practised lessons at three speeds and kept a notebook.

When I open that notebook now, I’m honestly amazed at how neatly I used to write my Konnakol notes in Kannada. Like, I wrote this? That superpower is long gone now. XD

I completed the Karnataka State Board Junior exam. After my teacher passed away, I continued under his son, Vidwan Sri B.C. Manjunath. I later learned with Sri Sridhar, who took some classes around Sri Manjunath’s international concerts.

Then came JEE preparation, and music took a back seat.

I returned to lessons in my fifth semester at IIT Kharagpur, learning remotely and attending in person when I was back in Bengaluru. Nehru Hall’s music room gave me somewhere to practise on campus too.

I enjoy the maths behind the rhythms and the creativity of putting phrases together. I don’t plan to make music my career. I’m happy to keep learning and playing.