Enthralling clashes of sounds vibrate through American Airlines Center as performers with bright uniforms jump in unison on the Dallas Mavericks basketball court.

The sounds did not come from a Mavericks fast break, but rather from Indian percussion instruments.

Shivam Dhol Tasha, or Shivam for short, is a music group originating in Plano performing ethnic Indian music. Recently, Shivam was invited to perform at President Donald Trump’s 2025 inauguration as well as the Mavericks halftime show on March 9.

One of the youngest members of Shivam is Coppell High School senior Rohak Yadav.

Yadav first encountered music in India, where he was born and raised until he was 9. His interest sparked when observing neighborhood wide celebrations of the Hindu holiday Ganesh Chaturthi.

“My family and I lived in a very small neighborhood and every night was packed with activities,” Yadav said. “I remember during Ganesh Chaturthi there would always be this loud noise.”

The sounds caught Yadav’s attention and piqued his interests in Indian percussion, including the kettle-drum-like tasha.

At age 7, his parents, Hemant and Kavita Yadav, gave him his own tasha during their next Ganesh Chaturthi festivities after hearing their son replicate the sound through pounding kitchen utensils.

“Rohak used to take out plates and bang them together,” Ms. Yadav said. “Still, he had a rhythm and stamina, so at our next Ganesh festival we gave him his own tasha.”

Yadav drifted away from playing the tasha when he moved to the United States two years later, as there were no opportunities for Rohak to take classes. Still, he did not lose all connection with the instrument.

“I used to watch a lot of YouTube videos of people playing dhol and tasha, and it would make me really miss it,” Rohak said. “I would have it playing on the TV while eating dinner or in my headphones.”

As a junior, Rohak was inspired to pick up the tasha again after attending DFW Temple’s Ganesh Chaturthi festival in 2023.

“Ganesh Chaturti was just so amazing that year and even though I had some distance with the instrument, I remembered how much I loved to play the Tasha,” Rohak said.

Using his newfound motivation, Rohak found a group of people sharing his passion. Incidentally, Rohak soon stumbled across Shivam’s Instagram.

“When we had some free time in English I opened my phone and saw one of their videos on my Instagram feed,” Rohak said. “I was like, ‘I want to get into this.’ It was great since they aren’t too far from home.”

After Rohak contacted Shivam co-founder Harish Nehate, he was invited to a practice to show what he could do.

“When they called me in I knew it was an opportunity I couldn’t miss even though I hadn’t played in a while,” Rohak said. “After the practice we had a good conversation and I was given great constructive criticism. They then got back to me later saying that they’d love to have me part of the group.”

Shivam co-founder Harish Nehate attests to the dedication required of Shivam members.

“We always say, we don’t practice until we get it perfect, but we practice until we cannot get it wrong,” Nehate said. “As a team we try to spend time building an amazing performance so when people see us they can feel something.”

The group spends practice time playing with little to no rest; this rigor soaks in pieces of music like muscle memory.

“We’ll be continuously playing for hours,” Rohak said. “We correct one another’s mistakes as we go along but there is no stopping the music.”

As Shivam expands its ventures, Yadav is ready to carry on his passion beyond high school.

“I already lost touch with the tasha once and I don’t think I should again, ” Rohak said. “I want to take it with me through college and definitely do something with it.”

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