Thousands of kilometres away from his home in the United States of America, Vikash Achutaramaiah, originally from Coimbatore, had stumbled upon a YouTube video of the Jal Tarang in 2010. Sound came from porcelain bowls filled with water, each producing a distinct note when gently struck with bamboo sticks. He went behind that sound, and soon his curiosity became a calling.
Today, that calling has earned him the Music Fellowship Award from the Alabama State Council on the Arts, one of the highest individual honours for artists in the USA. The recognition celebrates his work in preserving and promoting the nearly 2,000-year-old Jal Tarang, an instrument that is now among the rarest in Indian classical music. The fellowship citation describes him as one of the few artistes in the world actively performing and safeguarding the tradition, earning him the title, ‘Voice of Water Music’.
In pursuit of sound
For Vikash, however, the journey of following music began much earlier. He was introduced to Indian classical music and dance at the age of three. With his mother being a dancer, arts were always part of everyday life. In 2006, he moved to the USA to pursue higher education and later built a career in the IT industry. But the chance encounter with the JalTarang rekindled a deep artistic connection that would eventually define his life’s purpose. According to him, learning the instrument was anything but easy. Concert-ready Jal Tarang sets were virtually impossible to find. He recalls, “In my early days, when no proper Jal Tarang sets were available, I would roam the streets searching for ceramic bowls that looked suitable. I spent nearly 300 to 400 dollars buying porcelain bowls. I even visited Chinese and other Asian restaurants just to see the bowls they used. Later, I spoke with restaurant owners, found the manufacturers and began sourcing them directly.” Over time, he mastered the painstaking process of handcrafting and calibrating his own concert-quality Jal Tarang sets, ensuring every bowl produced the precise pitch required for performance.
His training under Jal Tarang maestro Anayampatti S Ganesan and Carnatic vocalist TV Ramprasadh rooted him in the guru-shishya tradition. Today, his work extends well beyond the concert stage. Along with the fellowship, he is collaborating on archival preservation initiatives to document and safeguard the instrument for future generations. The latest honour follows an earlier Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Award, recognising his sustained efforts to preserve a fading musical heritage. “I’ve taken Indian classical music to audiences across the United States, including performances at the Indian Consulate in Atlanta and the first traditional Jal Tarang recital during an official Diwali celebration at the Alabama State House,” shares Vikash. His outreach also includes sound-based wellness programmes conducted in collaboration with state public health departments, promoting mental health and community wellbeing.
A musician, composer, educator and cultural ambassador, Vikash is proficient in more than 35 Indian classical and folk instruments. He has presented over 1,000 professional concerts, composed more than 60 original works in seven languages, performed alongside a 100-piece symphony orchestra in Chicago and completed a five-hour non-stop multi-instrument performance before a stadium audience. His YouTube channel, with over 1,37,000 subscribers, has further expanded the reach of Indian classical music across the world. Even as he balances a career in corporate technology leadership, Vikash continues to tune porcelain bowls with dedication. For him, every note that rises from water is more than music — it is the sound of a tradition refusing to fade, carried across continents by someone determined to keep it alive.
