Naren Budhakar was born and brought up in the Indian classical music tradition. He began performing Tabla at a young age. A disciple of Tabla Maestro Ustad Shabbir Nisar, Naren has played with prominent instrumentalists, vocalists and dancers including Pandit Birju Maharaj, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Pandit Jasraj and Shahid Parvez. He has performed at prestigious venues in the U.S. and Europe, providing Tabla accompaniment for various musical genres. He is also a disciple of Shri Aditya Khandwe, a virtuoso vocalist of the Gwalior style of classical Indian vocal music. Naren is co-director of the East-West School of Music at Ananda Ashram in Monroe, NY, and as a faculty member teaches and performs regularly.
