Arun Nischal Music Academy
Flat no.103, Paras Tierea Tower-22, Sector 137 Rd, Paras Tierea, Sector 137, Noida, Uttar Pradesh 201305, India
https://www.arunnischalmusicacademy.com/
Arun Nischal Music Academy, rooted in the bustling Punjabi Bagh neighbourhood of West Delhi (Adj. to Natraj restaurant, Club Road), has been Delhi-NCR’s quiet powerhouse of Hindustani classical, semi-classical and light music training since 18 September 1983. Founded and still personally directed by the veteran vocalist-composer Shri Arun Nischal (A-grade All India Radio and Doordarshan artist, disciple of Vidushi Shobha Gurtu), the academy declares only one aim on its sun-bleached aluminum sign—“सुर से साधना tak, रियाज़ से रचना तक” (“from perfect pitch to perfect creation”). That promise is kept in three compact, acoustically treated studios (Main Hall 1 on terrace level, Hall 2 and Hall 3) built around a tiny sunlit courtyard where parrots whistle back the morning bandish.
Classes begin at 6:00 a.m. with the Shiv-stuti and run until 9:30 p.m.; group batches never exceed eight students and staff keep one-on-one coaching rooms free for urgent riyaaz. Tuition is offered in Khayal, Thumri, Dadra, Ghazal, Bhajan, Sufiana, Light Bollywood and basic sound production—arranged in six monthly modules priced between ₹3,000 and ₹7,200. Each pupil receives a customised practice tape (WAV or phone app) and access to the academy’s cloud archive: 1,500 hour-long authentic recordings digitised from Arun-ji’s reel-to-reel treasure. Twice a week the terrace becomes a baithak under the neem tree; eminent guests—Birju Maharaj in 2019, Purbayan Chatterjee in 2023—sit cross-legged on dhurries with fifty listeners. No microphones, no chairs, only tanpura.
The annual calendar consists of four internal Baithaks (January, April, July, October) and two ticketed auditorium productions; 2024’s flagship “Raag Malini” will showcase fifty alumni at Azad Bhawan ICCR. Certificate seekers sit for quarterly internal exams whose theory paper, hand-written on recycled fountain-pen sheets, still follows the Agra-Atrauli curriculum. Diploma courses (Prarambhik 1–4, Visharad 1–2) are recognised by Gandharva Mahavidyalaya and Delhi University School of Open Learning; college credit seekers can avail themselves of weekend flexi-slots.
Facilities include a small lending library of 600 rare books (Sangeet Natak reprints, Kolkatar Deshbhag), two Tan-tanpura tablets, four baby harmoniums, one Yamaha Genos workstation and a newly installed sound-proof vocal booth for demo CD creation. Annual maintenance fee: ₹800. Female students appreciate the safe-gated entry, CCTV corridors and designated female staff after 6 p.m.; Nischal-ji’s wife Rachna maintains a light dinner of rajma and rice for those on late evening riyaaz.
Since 2021 an online extension—“Arun Nischal Global”—beams live tabla-vocal duets to 42 countries; interactive cohorts cap at 15. Graduates now populate reality-show stages (Indian Idol 2022 runner-up Sayantani D.) and university faculties across Lucknow, Banaras and Montreal. Yet down in the courtyard the first bell still rings to the syllable of सा, untouched by auto-tune and deadlines.
Check on Google Maps
- Published: July 27, 2025
