My name is Nikhil Patwardhan and I am a professional Sitar player and performer. I have been performing and teaching Sitar for the past 25+ years.

I have students ranging from as young as 6 years to 50 years. My teaching style is aimed at providing peace, relaxation and spiritual development. I teach the Maihar style of music. This is the same school that Pandit Ravishankar, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan and Pandit Nikhil Banerjee belong to.

Teaching gives me a lot of satisfaction. I am very happy to see so much interest in the younger generation especially towards one of India's oldest and richest tradition and culture. Indian classical music has no expiry date and it remains young forever.

My class timings are very flexible. The class typically lasts for an hour and I encourage students to record the lessons. I have Sitar's with me so there is no need to buy one initially.



Here is a bit about me:

I belong to a family of musicians. I started my Hindustani Classical music training at the age of five with my grandmother and father.

At the age of fifteen, I started receiving training from Pandit Parthapratim Chatterjee, who is an exponent of the Maihar Gharana from Kolkata and a disciple of Pandit Nikhil Banerjee and Ustad Ali Akbar Khansahib.

With more than twenty five years of experience with Indian classical music, I have also performed at multiple venues in the United States including Clemson University International Music Festival, Colorado Springs Diwali Concerts and Colorado Springs Diversity Festival. I have also performed at other international venues like McBride's camp in Zambia and Masai Mara Lodge, Kenya. Other concerts include Doordarshan National television,Pune Navratra Mahotsav, Pune Festival, Gaanvardhan, Auroville, Pondicherry and multiple venues like Jagriti Theater in Bangalore. I have just returned from touring Japan where I performed in Kobe and Tokyo. I was also featured in a music marathon recently in Italy as part of World TB day on March 24th. My music was aired across 20 countries all over the globe.


I teach Sitar to all age groups and conduct music therapy and music meditation programs. I conduct workshops and lecture demonstrations as well. I also perform fusion with western musicians. I also conduct Skype lessons as well.