Nandan Kumar is a former tabla maestro and master percussionist. He belongs to the Benaras Gharana style of Tabla playing and honed his skills under the tutelage of his father and guru Pt. Bijay Kumar Thakur and his uncle Pt. Ajay Kumar Thakur. He has evolved a distinctive style of his own without diluting the purity of Indian tradition. Besides tabla, he is also known for Shree Khole, Pakhwaj, the Dholak, the Naal and many other percussion instruments. His first ever performance was at the age of 8 and has accompanied some of the renowned artists of all time like Anup Jalota, Jitendra Jamwal, Sharda Sinha etc and has been a part of some respected events, which include All India Radio, Doordarshan.