Our djembe Grandmaster: Late Mamady Keïta created an international djembe school called ‘Tam Tam Mandingue Djembe Academy’ which is the largest school with teachers spread all over the world. I joined this league of extraordinary gentle-persons in 2014 which is when I passed my certified teacher test with Mamady himself. 

Mamady would constantly share that the djembe knows no borders and that if we all thought like the djembe then there would be no war in the world. There would be peace. The djembe knows not whether the hands that are playing it are young or old, male or female, rich or poor… it only asks to be played with the right technique, love and respect. As representatives of Mamady’s legacy at TTMDA, it is our mission to spread djembe the traditional West African way, the Mamady Keïta way. In August 2024, this is what we did as all the teachers gathered together for the first time after he passed in 2021. We had representation from China, Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore, Italy, India, USA and more. A Djembe United Nations of sorts. 

Under the leadership of our Chief Kelvin Kew from Singapore we got to experience the amazing djembe drum and dance community of China. This was a result of consistent hard work for 10 years. Ke from China, who also got his certified teacher status in 2014 along with his team of teachers in China have really done an amazing job of cultivating a strong community of djembe drummers and dancers. The growth of the drumming community inspires the dancers and vice versa. We planned a workshop for a week which would end in a performance where we would showcase a percussion show called the ‘Pyramid of Djembe’ followed by a drum and dance musical titled ‘Keita’ depicting the life of the late Grandmaster. Kelvin, Hiroki (certified teacher from Fukuoka, Japan) and Rumiko (African dance teacher) have started Asian All-Stars for Africa (AAA); a collective / performance company of drummers and dancers who have gone through a rigorous training to earn their spot in the ensemble.

It was heartwarming to see such a diverse group of students from all over United by the djembe. Many languages were spoken but when it came to drumming, one language prevailed: that of rhythm.

I’m personally looking forward to the time that we can host such an international workshop and performance in India. This is what Mamady wanted and could not fulfill in his lifetime. 

The path to this will be the learn djembe consistently, widen one’s djembe vocabulary and build a scene. This will help us make space for more dancers to learn this high energy, beautiful and earthy dance form. 

I’m also personally training those candidates who want to learn djembe seriously and eventually become teachers who can spread djembe in their respective communities. The road is long but not unreachable. For starts, we have djembe classes in Pune (Baner and Kalyani Nagar) on weekdays and weekends. Learn djembe the traditional way with Taal Inc. School of Rhythm. 

I’m very grateful to have had the chance to reconnect with my djembe brothers and sisters from TTMDA in KL, Malaysia recently. To pay this forward, with a heart full of rhythms, inspiration and gratitude I promise to do my best to support the traditional djembe and dance scene in India.

Come. Drum. Be One. 
Varun Venkit
Team Taal Inc.