Deepal Chodhari of Plainsboro teaches the santoor, one of the oldest instruments of India. She is the only teacher in the tri-state area. Santoor, a Persian word, means 100 strings. The oldest known stringed instrument of India, it is placed on the lap and played with a pair of light wooden sticks while sitting in a padmasana, or lotus position.
“Music ran in my family,” she says. “I have nurtured a deep passion for music since childhood.” Her grandmother and aunt are vocalists and her father played the violin. Her first instrument is the harmonium, and she had vocal training in Hindustani music.
She was 14 when she heard a senior at her high school in Mumbai perform on the santoor. “I instantly fell in love with it and decided to pursue it,” she says. “The strong influence of having a solid foundation in Indian Hindustani music proved very powerful in grasping the nuances of learning the santoor.”
She studied with Shree Dinesh Sampat in Mumbai in the Guru-Shishya Parampara (an ancient Indian teacher-student tradition of imparting education). “Apart from studying various ‘ragas’ on the santoor, my guru trained me in the intricacies of tuning each string to get the best resonance and sound,” she says. “I mastered the skills of bridge setting, string setting, tuning, and using a combination of strings in the right gauges to get the best output.”
She is currently directing a band with close to 30 instrumentalists, both western and Indian, to create a fusion of an Eastern composition. Her next performance is at a music festival in North Jersey early next year.
A Plainsboro resident for six years, she chose the town for its school district and enjoys biking with friends and exploring the town. An IT designer, she received a bachelor’s degree in business management and economics and a master’s degree in management studies, both from Mumbai University in India. She also has a bachelor’s degree in Indian Hindustani classical music from Mumbai University.
Her husband, Rajiv Chodhari, is the director of financial markets at IBM. Their son, Sahas, is in second grade. He studies chess, golf, taekwondo, and tabla. Their daughter, Shloka, is in kindergarten. She studies swimming, Hindustani vocals, and art.
Group and private classes are held at Chodhari’s Plainsboro studio for all ages. Visit www.100strings.com for information.
