Darbuka Siva
Biography
Darbuka Siva is an Indian musician, filmmaker, and actor based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Starting as a drummer/percussionist, he went on to acting, writing, and directing films which have won awards in film festivals in Europe and London.
In 1999, he managed to buy a basic drum kit and began playing on his own. From there on, it was a classic case of one thing leading to another. Siva started his performing career in 2000 with 'Oikyotaan', an experimental Bengali Baul music band led by Bonnie Chakraborty, who was also Siva's musical mentor.
This experience pretty much shaped Siva's musical approach and also had a major influence on many of his future projects. In 2002, during his final year in college, Siva had to bunk all of his final year's exams to make himself available for an Oikyotaan tour. That marked the end of his academic duties.
Siva initially started as a drummer, but soon he found himself hooked towards hand percussions, especially South American and African percussions. With the help of some Latin music cassettes and directions from Bonnie, he started playing congas and timbales. That process led him to more percussion instruments like Djembe, Udu, and Darbuka.
