With a career spanning over five decades, mridangam vidwan T.S. Nandakumar (TSN) began his musical journey in Bombay before moving to the United States, where he is now based in New Jersey. Affectionately known as ‘TSN Sir’ to his students and ‘Bombay Nandakumar’ among fellow musicians, he has shared the stage with many of India’s distinguished artists. Born on 17 March 1958, into a family steeped in music—his uncles were the well-known Ambalapuzha Brothers—Nandakumar was drawn to rhythm early in life. Growing up near temple precincts, where his father worked with the Devaswom Board, he was surrounded by the sounds of Carnatic music and percussion. Inspired by the temple kutcheris and the performances of great mridangam and tavil vidwans, he began his training at the age of four under mridangam vidwan Kaithavana Madhavadas. After several decades in Bombay, during which he worked closely with leading sabhas such as Shanmukhananda Fine Arts, Chembur Fine Arts, Music Triangle, Naadalaya Fine Arts, and Ganakala Vidya Nilayam, Nandakumar moved to the United States in 2008. Having already spent time teaching and performing there in the late 1990s and early 2000s, he saw in the move an opportunity to reach wider audiences and nurture the next generation of students abroad.