Activities

Dr. Neel Bhan has been a proud student of Prana School of music. Neel used to learn Tabla from Sri Raja Banga when he was in Cinco Ranch high school in Katy. He was also part of his high school Orchestra as a violinist then.

Neel is currently in the final year of his fellowship in Pulmonary & Critical Care at Baylor College of Medicine. He earned his MD from UT SouthWestern Medical school in Dallas and his Undergraduate from UT Austin.

Neel also plans to resume his Tabla learning from Raja ji after he has finished his training and gets settled in a regular permanent job.

Vikram Banga is a junior at UT Austin, studying Plan-II (Design and Sociology). He has been learning Tabla since 4 years of age and picked up various other drums, Cajon, djembe on his way. He also learned how to play guitar. His creative expression also includes sketching and making cartoons and comics for Daily Texan, Apricity arts and design, and also as the design director of Saffron. He loves to enhance music with his creative drums accompaniment. In future, he wants to reshape social design.

Aditya studied table wjth Raja uncle from 2007-2016.
He completed high school from Seven Lakes high school Katy.
He graduated from Texas A&M with a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Distribution and Supply chain Engineering.
He currently is employed as IT Pillar Specialist – McDermott, Houston.
He also is a Real Estate Agent with the Patil Real Estate Group (eXp Realty)

Hello My Name Is Tanmay Soneji, I am currently 18 years of age and graduated from high school. With my guru Raja Sir, I have been learning the instrument of Tabla face to face from the year 2016 – 2019 and have continued the journey of learning through online meetings in the year 2019-2020. Currently I am soon to be entering the University of Massachusetts Lowell in the fall term 2024 as Business Administration major for my undergraduate and guarantee my success there by working hard to achieve what I want for the end of the 4 years of graduation.

My future goal as Business student would be to create a sustainable flowing start-up which perfectly helps both me personally and the people surrounding me.

Nikhil Murali has been learning tabla from Sri Raja Banga since February 2015 and has performed at recitals at multiple Prana events and Ghar Baithaks. He has also been learning the cello since 2017 and was a soloist and principal cellist for the Seven Lakes High School Symphony Orchestra during his senior year. Nikhil also enjoys writing his own music during his free time.

He is currently a student at Texas A&M University studying Molecular and Cell Biology and will continue pursuing tabla, cello, and composition in addition to his studies.

Ojas Prabhugaonkar has been a tabla student of Guru Shri Raja Banga for the last 8 years and graduated from the Prana School of Music in the summer of 2024. Ojas also plays acoustic, classical and electric guitar and has cleared multiple ABRSM (Associated Board of the Royal School of Music) theory and performance grades. He enjoys playing both instruments and performing Bollywood Classics and Contemporaries with a modern twist. Ojas will be attending the University of Texas at Austin in Fall 2024 to pursue a degree in Biomedical Engineering on a pre-med path. He hopes to continue his musical journey alongside his
academics.

Adhrit studied tabla at Prana EOL for nearly fifteen years and currently works as a Machine Learning Engineer/Data Scientist in New York City. Prana instilled a deep love for art and music in him as he enjoys practicing tabla in his free time and browsing museums like the MET in NYC.

Nikhil Garg was part of the first class of the Prana School of Music and studied with Raja uncle from 2004 – 2011, creating a lifelong love of Indian classical music. Nikhil is now a engineering professor at Cornell in New York City, after completing his undergraduate studies at UT Austin and his PhD at

Rohan Bhat a graduate of Tompkins High school in Katy is currently studying music and audio engineering at the University of Houston. Rohan has studied tabla with Raja Uncle from 2007-2014, and currently teaches percussion and drum set to high school and middle school students in Waller, Texas.

Anish Sathe is a Sophomore at the University of Texas at Austin studying Mechanical Engineering. He has been mastering Tabla for 8 years (2015-2023) from his Guru, T. Raja Banga, in the duration of which he performed countless live performances and entertained hundreds of audience members. Even during the stresses of college, Anish continues to practice Tabla, and is eager to rejoin classes with Guruji.

Arnav Joshi is an undergraduate student at UT Austin studying Computer Science with a minor in Robotics, due to graduate in 2027. He has been learning tabla from Shri Raja Bangaji since he was six years old. He has also been playing the piano for almost as long, starting one year later. He enjoys playing jazz music and combining Indian classical and instruments from other regions.

Dr. Rishabh Shah began his tabla journey at the age of 6 as Dr. Raja Banga’s inaugural student. He has performed at numerous events throughout the Houston area and organized a notable fundraising concert, Jagruti, during his time at Seven Lakes High School. While pursuing a degree in Biomedical Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin, he founded two musical ensembles and performed extensively on campus, all while maintaining his tabla practice. As a medical student at Texas A&M College of Medicine, he continued to showcase his skills on both tabla and cajon in fusion ensembles. Dr. Shah is now a general surgery resident at Parkview Health in Fort Wayne, IN, where he continues to integrate his passion for music with his medical career.

Parth Vyas: I am a proud former student of Prana School of Music. Learning to play Tabla from Raja uncle taught me many life lessons I still carry with me to this day: hard work, discipline and humility to name a few.

I am currently working as an IT Project Manager at Houston Methodist Hospital. I work in System Patient Access where my team and I analyze big data to understand where opportunities lie to help the Houston patient population gain access to our healthcare facilities easier and more efficiently. I am an avid fitness enthusiast and also enjoy reading, playing pickleball as well as video games.

My name is Sri Devulapalli, and I had the privilege of learning tabla from guru Raja Banga during high school. I am grateful for his guidance and for instilling in me a deep love for music. I received my BS from Yale University and currently work in NYC.

Rahul Devroy, a Cinco Ranch graduate, attended Texas A&M for undergraduate studies. He did MD in Internal Medicine from Texas A&M School of Medicine and completed his Residency from University of Las Vegas at Las Vegas.
Rahul learned Tabla from Raja uncle for 5 years between 2000 and 2004.

Neelanjana Chakrabarty is a sophomore at University of Texas at Austin pursuing a Biology major on a pre-med path. She has played violin and guitar for various Prana events, under the guidance of Raja ji, since 2017. She is deeply invested in the musical arts, also being a Bharatanatyam student for the past 13 years and having completed her Arangetram from Payal School of Dance. At UT Austin, she continues to practice and perform.

Aashka Dasgupta has been a member of Prana School and Tagore Society Youth Symphony since she was 15 years old. She has thoroughly enjoyed the valuable experience as a stage performer, under the guidance of Raja uncle. She currently attends Texas A&M and is working in the banking industry. She is classically trained in Hindustani vocal music and plays the harmonium, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, and violin.

Aarush Sarkar is a student at the University of Texas at Dallas studying electrical engineering. He has been playing the violin for 8 years, playing with the Prana Music School and Tagore Society Youth Symphony for many years, for multiple events, under the guidance of Raja Uncle. He is continuing his passion for music and would love future opportunities of performing for Prana.