Gurumurthy Vaidya, also known as 'Tabla Guru' by the people in his circle, is a professional tabla player based out of the IT capital of India, Bangalore. He has been playing the tabla for the last 16 years and has mastered in making the instrument speak. His rendering of tabla notes reminds people of the legendary artistes in the Indian classical music. Born to a musical family from Western Karnataka, rhythm flows in Vaidya's blood. He had his initial tutelage under Pt GS Hegde of Sirsi and the under the famous tabla master, Pt Basavaraj Bendigere. Later, he met his guru, Pt Ravindra Yavagal of Bangalore, from whom he learned and further honed his skills to inculcate Ustad Thirakhawa Khan style of tabla playing. Gurumurthy is a high-grade artist in AIR and has also popularized 'Laya Vinyasa', an ensemble of tabla, pakhawaj, yakshagana chende and mrudanga over many prestigious stages, which has gained its own popularity appealing to the crowds. Awards: Karnataka Sangeeth Nrithya Kala Academy Human Resource Development Scholarship, Govt of India