Advancement and Promotion of Charitable Activities

Devapriya “Debu” Nayak

nayakDebu Nayak was born in West Bengal, India. He began learning tabla at the age of five from his grandfather Chaudhry Kausalya Nandan, an accomplished pakhawaj and tabla player of Punjab gharana. Later Debu learned tabla from Pt. Radhakant Nandy of Benaras Gharana in Calcutta for nearly 10 years. In 1981 Debu came to the United States to pursue higher studies, and continued his taalim or training in tabla from Pt. Samir Chatterjee and Pandit Anindo Chatterjee, both from Farukhabad.

He has appeared with leading musicians from India and Pakistan like Pt. Jasraj and Ustad Vilayat Khan and performed with renowned artists like Pt. Vinayak Torvi, Pt. Ramesh Misra, Ustad Fahimuddin Dagar, Habib Wali Mohammed, Asif Ali khan, Shahanaz Begum and many others. His recent collaborative musical effort with American Jazz and fusion band “Probe”, recorded and performed at the Smithsonian Institution, is currently available under “World Music” at the Sackler Gallery bookstore. Debu is a computer engineer by profession and is employed by the United States Department of Interior, but music still remains his ultimate passion. More