Baithak Foundation was started as a weekend activity when our co-founders realised that in spite of all the developments, Indian Traditional Music is accessible to limited groups in our society. What started as a weekend activity in 2015, has flourished today into a growing not-for-profit organisation which currently works with 3200+ children from 35+ schools and community centres in two cities in India.
Baithak’s flagship initiative is called the APT Project. Under this initiative we conduct concerts, participative workshops, music clubs for children from socio-economically underprivileged sections in urban slums and rural areas. We also publish books about music and do music research. Check out our home page to know more about all the initiatives that we run.
Baithak Foundation is an inclusive organisation. If you feel you can contribute to any of our activities in any manner, feel free to reach out to us!
We believe that all Indian art forms are practising art forms – their practice and Sadhana helps us be more sensitive human beings and creates a strong foundation for a meaningful life.
Baithak is deeply thankful to all our donors who believe in the cause and support us generously. Our patrons are :
Pt. Firoz Dastur Memorial Foundation
Shri. Rukmineesh Seva Trust
Precision Foundation, Solapur
Jaldi Cash
And a large number of individual patrons and well-wishers.
Our current reach (2022-23):
2 Cities
147 Events
84 Artists
20 Schools/ Centres
2000+ Students
6000+ Total Audience reached
3000 Hours of Archival Music Digitised
Our Team
Dakshayani Athalye – CEO
Dakshayani is a law graduate from Pune university and later pursued Masters from Tata Institute Of Social Sciences in Mumbai.
Dakshayani has multiple years of experience of working with not for profits in the capacity of a CSR Manager, an HR coordinator and a teacher.
Dakshayani is a trained Kirtankar (a traditional for of musical storytelling.)
Sushruti Santhanam – Director, Knowledge Wing
Carnatic musician and a Historian who studies the relevance of tradition in Indian social life, especially in the domain of crafts and arts. Sushruti has over two decades of experience in collaborating and doing independent research with a variety of musicians in states like Tamilnadu, Telengana, Maharashtra and Rajasthan,
Mandar Karanjkar – Managing Trustee
Mandar is a passionate believer in power of music as a tool for all-round development. A communication consultant, Mandar draws rich corporate work experience and conducts corporate trainings. He is a published author with three books. Mandar is a student of Indian Khayal Music and has been fortunate to learn from late Pt. Vijay Sardeshmukh.
Thara Vadakkath – Coordinator, APT Project
Thara is a post graduate in History from Pune University. Her interest lies in Indian Art History, and she has worked extensively on museum projects and other research oriented works. Previously she was working as a research assistant archiving the works of art historian Anand Coomaraswamy. Thara is an amateur singer of Carnatic music.
Tejal Kulkarni – Coordinator, APT Project
Tejal has completed her graduation in business management. She has been learning Indian classical music from her childhood and is passionate about music and music education.
Atharva Choudhary – Coordinator, APT Project
Atharva is a Bharatnatyam practitioner and has been learning under the tutelage of Guru Parimal Phadke.