
When one thinks of tabla, religious ceremonies and folk music often come to the mind. Now, a duo’s cover of a pop song is changing this perception.
Musicians Nihal Singh and Shobhit Banwait covered Rema and Selena Gomez’s popular song “Calm Down” on tabla. With over 1.6 lakh likes on Instagram, the cover has gone viral.
While sharing the cover, shot at a basketball court, Nihal Singh wrote, “My brother @shobhitbanwait flew in for an all of 6 hours and this is how we spent our time 😌 FEEL THE VIBE #CalmDown”.
Appreciating the classical take on a pop song, an Instagram user commented on the post, “Is it me or does it sound even better😍 🔥 🔥 🔥 ” Another user remarked, “I feel so happy seeing people playing tabla in the age of drums.”
Even the official Instagram account of National Basketball Association India commented on the post, “The Basketball x Tabla crossover we didn’t know we needed! 😄 ”.
This is not the first time that a cover of a popular song has gone viral for using more traditional instruments. In 2017, santoor player Kamaljeet Ahluwalia and tabla player Jas Ahluwalia teamed up to do a classical cover of “Stranger Things”.
In 2021, Apple used tabla music in an advertisement for the iPhone 12. The background music used in the 38-second advertisement was “The Conference” by musician Nitin Sawhney, which consisted of tabla beats.