ClassicalClaps is pleased to announce the association of two distinguished personalities from the world of Indian classical arts, Dr Ratish Tagde and Dr Tina Tambe, as Honorary Editors-at-Large.
This association marks an important step in the ongoing journey of ClassicalClaps as an e-magazine dedicated to Indian classical music and dance. With the support and presence of respected practitioners, thinkers, educators, and institution-builders, ClassicalClaps seeks to further strengthen its commitment to meaningful cultural dialogue, serious arts writing, and informed engagement with the classical traditions of India.
The role of Honorary Editor-at-Large is envisioned as a respectful and flexible association through which senior cultural voices can contribute to the larger vision of the magazine. Dr Ratish Tagde and Dr Tina Tambe will bring their independent perspectives, artistic experience, intellectual depth, and practitioner-led insights to ClassicalClaps through writings, reflections, ideas, and broader cultural engagement.
Dr Ratish Tagde
A Musician, Media Visionary and Advocate for Artists
A respected Hindustani classical violinist, cultural entrepreneur, institution-builder, and advocate for musicians, Dr Ratish Tagde has made significant contributions to the Indian classical music ecosystem in multiple capacities.
His journey reflects a rare combination of artistic pursuit, organisational leadership, media vision, and deep commitment to the cause of Indian classical music. As a violinist, he has been actively associated with the performance tradition of Hindustani classical music. Beyond the concert stage, he has played a meaningful role in creating platforms that support musicians, audiences, and the larger classical music community.
Dr Tagde is widely known for his pioneering work in music media through Insync, a dedicated television platform for Indian classical music. At a time when classical music required stronger visibility on contemporary media platforms, this initiative helped bring performances, artists, and traditional music forms to a wider audience. His work through Perfect Octave has also reflected his belief in building sustainable cultural platforms for music and musicians.
As President of the Musicians Federation of India, Dr Tagde has been closely involved with issues concerning musicians, their rights, opportunities, representation, and dignity within the cultural sector. His understanding of the arts is therefore not limited to performance alone; it extends to policy, advocacy, artist welfare, media dissemination, audience development, and the evolving music industry.
Dr Tagde has also been associated with ClassicalClaps over the years and has contributed several thoughtful articles to the magazine. His writings have brought valuable perspectives on music, musicians, cultural systems, and the changing realities of the classical arts. His continued association as Honorary Editor-at-Large will add significant depth to ClassicalClaps’ engagement with music, media, artists’ concerns, and the future of Indian classical traditions.
Dr Tina Tambe
A Deep Engagement with Kathak as a Living Tradition
Dr Tina Tambe is an accomplished Kathak exponent, choreographer, teacher, researcher, and cultural practitioner whose work reflects a deep commitment to classical dance as both an artistic discipline and a living tradition.
Trained in the Jaipur gharana style of Kathak, Dr Tambe’s artistic journey has been shaped by rigorous training, performance, choreography, teaching, and research. Over the years, she has emerged as a respected performer and teacher, known for her clarity of expression, strong grounding in tradition, and thoughtful approach to dance.
Her academic and artistic profile brings together practice and scholarship. With advanced training and research in Kathak, she represents the important space where performance, pedagogy, history, aesthetics, and cultural enquiry meet. This combination gives her a distinctive voice as an artist who not only performs and teaches, but also reflects deeply on the larger meanings, contexts, and future of classical dance.
As the Artistic Director of Ninad Center for Performing Arts, Mumbai, Dr Tambe has trained and mentored numerous students, contributing to the next generation of Kathak practitioners. Through teaching, workshops, performances, choreography, and curated initiatives, she has remained actively engaged with both serious learners and wider audiences.
Her engagement with formal arts education also extends to the Maya Somaiya School of Music & Performing Arts at Somaiya Vidyavihar University, where she brings her practitioner-scholar approach to the teaching and mentoring of Kathak students.
Dr Tambe has received recognitions including Nalanda Nritya Nipun, Singarmani, and Pt. Kartikram Kalanidhi Puraskar, among others. Her journey also reflects a diverse creative presence, spanning solo performance, choreography, academic research, teaching, cultural programming, and institution-building.
Her association with ClassicalClaps as Honorary Editor-at-Large will bring a valuable practitioner-scholar perspective to the magazine. Her insights are expected to enrich conversations around tradition, training, aesthetics, stage presentation, pedagogy, women in the arts, the guru-shishya parampara, and the changing relationship between artists and audiences.
Strengthening a Practitioner-Led Cultural Voice
The association of Dr Ratish Tagde and Dr Tina Tambe as Honorary Editors-at-Large reflects our desire to build a more thoughtful, inclusive, and practitioner-led cultural platform.
Indian classical music and dance are not merely performance traditions; they are knowledge systems shaped by years of training, reflection, devotion, discipline, imagination, and dialogue. As the classical arts continue to respond to new audiences, digital platforms, changing patronage structures, and contemporary cultural expectations, there is a growing need for platforms that can document, discuss, question, and celebrate these traditions with sensitivity and seriousness.
We believe that the presence of senior practitioners such as Dr Tagde and Dr Tambe will help create richer conversations and deeper engagement with the arts. Their diverse capabilities – as performers, teachers, thinkers, cultural organisers, institution-builders, and commentators – will add further strength to the magazine’s continuing work.
ClassicalClaps will continue to feature reviews, interviews, reports, news articles, and opinion pieces by its contributors, while the Honorary Editors-at-Large will add their independent voices, perspectives, and guidance to the magazine’s broader cultural journey.
Welcoming Dr Ratish Tagde and Dr Tina Tambe, we looks forward to an enriching association that will support its mission of celebrating Indian classical music and dance, encouraging meaningful dialogue, and bringing the classical arts closer to contemporary readers.
