As a child, Akshay Anand wanted to do what his friends were doing — play cricket, watch movies, etc. Instead he channelled the abundant energy of childhood into his mridangam. Today, when you listen to Akshay playing, you can hear in those beats his love for the instrument, alongside the restraint and perseverance of a young master. As a child, Akshay used to drum on every object that he could lay his hands on. Soon, he started lessons with the mridangam vidwan M.T. Rajakesari. When Akshay took part in a contest at the Music Academy, Chennai, S. Kalidas, Pillai’s disciple was the judge. In the days after that, Akshay became a student of Kalidas. Akshay is a hard working, ambitious young artist who has a very bright future in the field of carnatic music as a mridangam artist.