About
Sweekar Katti is an Indian classical sitarist, performer and educator from Mumbai whose music brings together deep classical roots, expressive performance and an openness to explore.
From traditional concert stages to fusion, film music and collaborative projects, his journey with the sitar has taken him across India and internationally.
The Journey
For Sweekar, music was part of life long before it became a profession. He grew up in a family of musicians, listening to his grandmother sing, his mother practise and teach Hindustani classical vocal music, and his father play the sitar and santoor. Ragās, compositions and instruments were simply part of the world around him.
His formal journey began at seven, when his father and guru, Dr. Sunil Katti, introduced him to the tabla to develop a strong sense of rhythm. But it was the sound of the string instruments he heard at home that drew him in. At ten, Sweekar chose the sitar, received his first instrument from his father, and began the training that would eventually become his life's work.
By the time he finished school, he already knew he wanted to pursue music professionally. What followed was a journey of rigorous training, academic study, competitions and performances, gradually taking him from his first public sitar recital at the age of twelve to concert stages across India and overseas.
Over the years, Sweekar's work has grown well beyond the traditional solo recital. Alongside Indian classical performances, he has worked in fusion and contemporary music, contributed sitar to film and studio recordings, performed with leading musicians and composers, and participated in projects that bring different musical traditions together.
Through all of it, the sitar remains at the centre: an instrument he continues to perform, explore, record and teach.
In His Element
For Sweekar, the stage is where years of training, instinct and exploration come together, one performance at a time.
Bio Snapshot
Mumbai, India | Home base, with performances and musical work extending across India and internationally.
Sitarist · Composer · Educator | Indian classical concerts, fusion and collaborative performances, recordings and teaching.
Classical Roots · Contemporary Reach | Grounded in the Etawah Gharana while working across classical, film, fusion and collaborative music.
Artistic Approach
Sweekar's musical foundation is deeply rooted in Indian classical music, but his relationship with the sitar has never been limited to a single kind of stage. He approaches each performance or project with the same intent: to respect the character of the music, connect with the people listening, and allow the instrument to find its own voice within the setting.
For Sweekar, technique is a means to communicate. Whether unfolding a raga in a classical recital or playing a few carefully chosen phrases in a recording, the music comes first, its emotion, movement and ability to connect with the listener.
Classical training provides the foundation, not the boundary. Sweekar has taken the sitar into fusion concerts, films, albums, television, advertising and cross-cultural collaborations while retaining the character and sensitivity of the instrument.
Sweekar enjoys discovering what can happen when musical ideas, instruments and artists meet. Collaborations and new formats give him an opportunity to hear the sitar differently, respond to other musical languages and keep evolving as a musician.
Teaching
Students who are drawn to the artist's musical depth can also enquire about sitar classes and training, available in both online and in-person formats.
Contact and Bookings
The About page introduces the artist in depth. The next step is to turn that interest into a real enquiry.