 Along the way, however, he experienced an epiphany in discovering Indian classical music and tabla in 1971.He immediately began studying tabla, first with Ishwarlal Misra followed by Chotelal Misra and Kiran Deshponde, all from Benares, India.Inspired by this rich, ancient musical culture and seeking deeper personal awareness of the world around him, he set off on several journeys to India, Nepal, Kashmir, Eastern and Western Europe, backpacking and hitchhiking with his tabla and quickly learning that music is the universal language no matter where he found himself.