Savani Talwalkar

Savani Talwalkar grew up in a household of musicians. Her father is the tabla player Pandit Suresh Talwalkar and her mother is the khayal singer Padma Talwalkar; she describes herself as the daughter and disciple of both. Her father initiated her into the tabla, and her published profile describes the instrument as a family inheritance.

She made her name early as a young soloist and has performed at festivals in India and abroad, both as a soloist and as an accompanist to senior Hindustani musicians.

In 2012 she received two awards: the Dr Vasantrao Deshpande Award from the Dr Vasantrao Deshpande Memorial Foundation in Chinchwad, and the Sangeet Natak Akademi's Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar for Hindustani instrumental music — the award her brother Satyajit has also received.

She is part of her father's touring ensemble. Darbar's film of the group lists her on tabla alongside Omkar Dalvi on pakhawaj, Chinmay Kolhatkar on harmonium and Sameehan Kashalkar singing khayal, in the programmes where Talwalkar sets out to interpret lyrics and melody on the tabla. Her recent solo recitals include Smaran 14, the Swarit Foundation's young-artists series at the India Habitat Centre in New Delhi in 2024, and the 2026 Guru Abhivadan Sohala in Pune, the yearly gathering of her father's disciples. She also teaches beginners in online group classes.