Saturday 27 June 2026 · OMNOM Islington · London

Talayan

— Eye of Rhythm —

Three voices. Three traditions. One intimate evening of pure rhythm.

Behind the Name

The Eye of Rhythm

Talayan — the eye of rhythm.

In Indian classical thought, rhythm is not the beat itself but the awareness of the beat — the watching presence at the heart of every cycle. Tāla is the cycle; ayan is the moving, the seeing, the witnessing of it. Together: the eye of rhythm.

This concert takes that single image and asks a single question: what conversation can three traditions have when they meet not at the rim, but at the centre?

The Evening

What to Expect

For one intimate night at OMNOM Islington, three artists share a single stage and a single conversation: a tabla rooted in two decades of Banaras Gharana training; a sitar carrying the lyrical voice of melody; and a Jazz kit answering with the language of the West.

This is not fusion as decoration. It is a meeting of equals — a tabla player exploring the kit's vocabulary, a Western drummer reaching toward the bols of the tabla, and a sitar moving freely between both worlds. Listen for the moments where rhythm becomes the bridge — where the spoken and the unspoken find each other.

There is no fixed setlist. The shape of the evening will emerge in the moment.

The Trio

Three Voices on Stage

Tabla

Manmohan Dogra

Disciple of SNA Pt. Vijay Shankar Mishra and a leading voice of the Banaras Gharana. Twice-awarded Tabla Shree, recipient of Tabla Shiromani, with two decades of solo and accompaniment practice across the United Kingdom and India.

Read full biography →

Sitar

Etienne Bartholomew

The melodic voice that bridges the percussive worlds of tabla and Jazz drums — sitar lines that carry both raga's gravity and improvisation's freedom.

Full biography to follow.

Jazz Drums

Siemy Di

London-based Jazz drummer who crosses the kit like a cartographer drawing new maps between East and West — finding the conversation between groove and tihai.

Full biography to follow.

Listen

The Sound of Talayan

Recordings from each artist will be added here in the run-up to the concert.

Tabla Manmohan Dogra Video coming soon
Sitar Etienne Bartholomew Video coming soon
Jazz Drums Siemy Di Video coming soon
Venue & Arrival

OMNOM Islington

OMNOM is a plant-based Indian restaurant and event space on Upper Street, with a ground-floor restaurant and an upper floor that has hosted everything from kirtan to comedy. Its intimate scale makes it an ideal home for a chamber concert of this kind — close enough to hear every dha and na.

Address116N Upper Street, Islington Square, London N1 1QP
Doors7:00 PM
Concert7:30 PM — 9:00 PM
Nearest TubeHighbury & Islington (Victoria · 5 min walk)  ·  Angel (Northern · 12 min walk)
Venueomnom.com
Limited Capacity

Reserve Your Seat

The intimate setting at OMNOM means seats are strictly limited. Tickets are available now via Eventbrite.

After the Night

A Living Archive

After 27 June this page will become a record of the night — recordings, photographs and reflections from the concert, free for visitors to revisit.

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