Salman Rushdie called her ‘the next big thing’ and with her repertoire of performances in Kabul, New York and now India, Suphala Patankar is definitely getting bigger. In Mumbai to release her latest album, ‘The Now’, and catch up on training with her guru Zakir Hussain, Suphala claims that it is the infinite process of learning the tabla that brings her back every year to India.

With long black tresses and haute couture, Suphala’s trendy image is contrary to everything Indian classical. Yet, her music is rooted to the Indian ethos. “I may look trendy or radically unconventional but my music is natural and organic. In fact, it is my music that dispels the many notions and perceptions. It is your work that speaks, be it Norah Jones or Anoushka Shankar; it is their talent and not their image that’s getting noticed,” she adds.

Suphala’s journey into the music world started way back in her teens when she heard the “Rhythmic sounds of the tabla”. Having trained with none other than the tabla maestros Ustad Allah Rakha and now Ustad Zakir Hussain, Suphala recreates the nuances of Indian classical with a touch of hip-hop and other Western influences. “Music is a personal journey and my latest album reflects that,” she states.