Meet Anita Katakkar

Anita Katakkar is a specialist in tabla, and has studied with composer and musician Ritesh Das and with the pre-eminent exponent of the Lucknow Style, Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri.

Together with her band, Rakkatak, she has released two albums with a third coming out in the Spring of 2017. Their work is a dynamic merge of the melodies and rhythms of classical Indian music with western instrumentation and a pop music aesthetic.

Their next album is titled ‘Small Pieces,’ which Anita says is inspired from Rajasthani patchworks.

“[Rajasthani patchworks] come from different people and the dresses and whatever else they are made for have different meanings to different people,” said Anita. “You often have hanging threads and imperfections – lines that are not straight - it just makes up this beautiful textile when you put them together. That’s how we see the album. “

With regards to Music Can Heal, Anita does not have experience playing in hospitals and other health settings; however, she hopes to replicate through music her own positive experiences at a hospital when she was young.

“[Music Can Heal] resonates with me because when I was 12 I had open heart surgery at Sick Kids Hospital,” Anita said. “I remember all the people who had come to the hospital to visit and cheer us up. It was really meaningful and a positive experience…to see all the goings on in the hospital.”

Though admittedly, the Tabla may not be an instrument for bedside, Anit believes her music is “bright enough to change [moods]” in an atrium type setting.

Check out, ‘Heliosphere,’ Rakkatak’s first single off ‘Small Pieces’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkrAWFBjbJ4