My Compelling Story

Kartikeya Vashisht is a professional flautist based out of the capital city of India, New Delhi. His relationship with flute began when he was in grade 6 in school. He purchased a flute from a local fair and tried playing it on his own. He took up flute in school and started learning Hindustani classical under the guidance of his guru, Shri Sujit Mandal (Maihar gharana), in 2006. His relationship with the flute became deeper over the years and he realized that he wanted to spend rest of his life playing and learning music. In 2010, he discovered Alghoza through YouTube videos and was fascinated by its sound. A year later, he traveled to Jaisalmer and started learning the Rajasthani Alghoza under the guidance of Shri Tagaram Bheel (Moolsagar, Jaisalmer) while living in his village. In Jaisalmer, he also met many other folk musicians and also picked up the Morchang. In June 2012, he traveled to Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia’s Brindaban Gurukul, Bhubaneswar on a two-month music scholarship awarded by Krishna Prerna Trust, and experienced the tradition of guru-shishya parampara (student-mentor tradition). Through his rigorous training in the gurukul, he had the opportunity to learn new raagas and experience deeper nuances of the Indian classical music under Shri Sameer Rao, who is one of the senior disciples of Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia. His extensive musical collaborations with his school friend, Arman Ali, diversified his knowledge, as they experimented with various genres of music, including psytrance. Over the years, he has been a part of various musical groups/bands and also given various solo performances. Some of the key projects and events are listed below: Times of India Raasrang World Flute Festival 2012 & 2013 Times of India Raasrang Holi Utsav 2013 Book Launch Ceremony of ‘Krishna Coriolis’ series by Ashok Banker in 2011 Book Launch Ceremony of ‘Unveiling of Bhog-Temple Food of India’ by Arun Buddhiraja at Sri Ramayan Vidyapeeth Mandir, Lodhi Road on 28 November, 2012 Performed at 6th International Delhi Art Festival as part of Taala Science Percussion Collective in November 2012 Performed at Urs Festival, India Islamic Centre March 2012 Performed at celebrations for World Music Day at BluO, Gurgaon and Café Ninja, Hauz Khas Village in 2013 Performed in Ragasthan Festival 2014 and Desert Festival 2014 in Jaisalmer with band 'Avi and The Uprising', in collaboration with Rajasthani folk musicians Performed at various events in Delhi/NCR and Kanpur with bands like Desi Roots, Folka Dots, Ethnic Ragas, Boom Shankar Project, and Sama Performed at the Psuche Delose Festival at Rishikesh in 2014 Performed with Sufi vocalist, Dhruv Sangari, in various events Worked with the Real Road Project