Dada Guru Late Pt Kishan Maharaj had an enormous amount of influence towards the style of tabla-playing taught at Saptak. Hence, Jay got trained in the Benaras-Gharana Style, by his gurus late Pt Nandan Mehta and Pt Puran Maharaj.

Guru Shree late Pt Nandan Mehta

Founder and trustee of the Saptak School of Music, late Pt Nandan Mehta hailed from a family, which is renowned for patronising music, painting and literature.

Pt Nandan Mehta's training in Tabla started at the age of eight, under the tutelage of Shree Sadashivrao Lutde. Later, he started taking intensive training from the late Maestro Pt Kishan Maharaj. Since then, he had always been deeply involved in the field of music and had been one of the prime students of Pt Kishan Maharaj. Pt Nandan Mehta holds a highly respectable position in the Indian classical musical arena, and had performed with great artists such as Ustad Rashid Khan, Pt Jarsaj, Smt Kishori Amonkar, Ustad Sultan Khan, Ustab Amjad Ali Khan and the like.

Through his strict and traditional teaching methods, Pt Nandan Mehta imbibed in Jay, the valuable qualities of Riyaaz (vigorous practice), sincerity, dedication, utmost discipline, and respect towards one's Guru and also, towards music.

Guru Shree Pt Puran Maharaj

Born in 1952 in one of India's most respected and well-known families of great musicians of the Benaras heritage, Pt Puran Maharaj is the son of late Pt Kishan Maharaj.

He took tabla training from his grandfather, Pt Kanthe Maharaj, the legendry tabla genius of his time and later, from his father. Receiving well this nearly 400 year old tabla-heritage, he has performed with great musicians such as Pt Ravi Shankar, Pt Birju Maharaj, Pt Gopi Kishan, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Pt Raajan & Saajan Mishra, Smt Girja Devi, Ustad Nishat Khan, Ustad Ashish Khan, Pt Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Pt Ronu Majumdaar, Pt Tarun Bhattacharya, Pt Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, and many others.

He has been appointed by the Government of India to represent, promote and teach Tabla through ICCR, in South American countries, Canada, USA and UK.

Jay found Pt Puran Maharaj's way of teaching extra-ordinary in the sense, that he taught his disciples the intricacies of creating complicated Paltaas (variations) and Tihaais (calculated syllables that are played three times in order to finish the rhythmic cycle) spontaneously.