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Our Word
Meraki is a Greek word that means the soul, creativity, or love put into something; the essence of yourself that is put into your work. This word drives the philosophy with which Sonam Lodhi founded Studio Meraki in 2017 in Pune. Today more than 70 Beginners to Diploma level students from all over the world learn Classical Music, Rock & Pop and Music Theory through offline and online piano lessons with our 8 teachers.
The Studio believes in performance-oriented learning & students are encouraged to participate in masterclasses, workshops & concerts held at the Studio, externally or online.
The Studio has a history of students winning prizes in piano competitions across the country like Musiquest in Pune & the Kawai Junior Piano competition in Bangalore.
Two recitals are held annually- one public concert for classical music & an in-house concert designed to specifically develop a musical ability like ensemble playing or ear training or a specific genre like movie themes or popular music.
In the future, the Studio hopes to expand to different instruments & art forms & provide a platform where different artists can collaborate & learn together.
Our Team
Sonam Lodhi: Founder & Director
Sonam Lodhi started learning the piano at age 10 with the late Veera Pooniwala at St. Cecilia's School of Music, Pune. She passed her LTCL Diploma with Distinction in 2013 and has completed her Bachelors in Computer Engineering from Pune University. Sonam worked in the IT industry for a year but the demanding nature of the job didn’t give her enough time to devote to music, so she left her job to pursue her passion. Sonam actively participates in national piano competitions.She was the winner of Con Brio 2017- The John Gomes Memorial Piano Competition & Festival- organised by Furtados. In 2013, Sonam was also the runner up in Musiquest organised by the Academy of Music, Pune. Dr Sacheen Khirid and Sonam were declared to have the highest marks in India in the Advanced Certificate category for their duet performance as the Allegri Duo and were given the Exhibition Award in 2015. Sonam has worked in various master classes, most notably and frequently by Canadian pianist Paul Stewart , British pianist Mark Troop and Indian born Viennese pianist Marialena Fernandez. She is part of "In Good Form", a western classical music knowledge sharing initiative formed by Mark Troop and Parvesh Java. She frequently performs in Pune and Mumbai, accompanying choirs, different vocalists and instrumentalists in addition to performing ensemble work and chamber music. Studio Meraki- an institute for learning music- was established by Sonam
Rohan Sigamany : Teacher &
Co-ordinator
Rohan Sigamany is a piano teacher with over 8 years of experience. He has worked with various different music academies in Pune including Studio Dolce and Muziclub. His students have been appearing for Trinity examinations since 2013. He has developed course structures on playing by ear for different age groups and conducts workshops on it. He holds a Trinity grade 7 performance certificate in classical piano. He is also currently an Assistant Professor at Spicer Adventist University in the Business and Commerce department.
Ajey Deshpande: Teacher
Ajey is a piano teacher at Studio Meraki, and has been a part of it since it's commencement. His musical journey started by taking lessons with Sonam Lodhi. He holds a grade 8 certificate in piano & electronic keyboard, grade 5 in Music Theory and grade 4 in Recorder from Trinity College, London.He has gathered 5 years of experience by teaching at the Studio and formerly at Furtados School of Music, where he took solo/group classes. He actively conducts and attends workshops, attends masterclasses to aid his pedagogy skills. Ajey is no stranger to online learning as he has been teaching online since 2017, to his students in India and abroad.He specialises in teaching beginners, teaching aural skills and improvisation. Many of his students have appeared for TCL, Rock & Pop, theory examinations. He is taking jazz lessons with Anurag Naidu in Mumbai. He recently completed an online course in jazz with Berklee College of Music.
Callen D’Silva: Teacher
Growing up in a large Goan family, where music, dance, and singing are given importance, Callen took keenly to learning the keyboard. Under the guidance of Robina D’Souza , she developed her love for music and joined the Lancelot Academy. Due to her academics, she took a break and rejoined classes under the guidance of Ajey Deshpande and completed her grade 3 in keyboard and piano. In 2020 she joined Studio Meraki and completed her grade 4 piano under the loving guidance of Sonam Lodhi. Her interest and love for the piano grew by participating in recitals and workshops. She completed her Bachelor’s degree in English literature from St Miras College for Girls and her Bachelor's degree in Education from Arihant College of Education and is currently working at The Bishop's School, camp as a Teacher for the pre- primary section . In November 2022, she completed her grade 8 Trinity College London Communications Skills examination with Distinction. Currently she's working towards her grade 5 examination and wishes to spread the joy and love she experiences from music with everyone.
Nandita Menon: Teacher
Nandita started learning piano when she was 11 years old and continued for 3 years under Ms Shweta Adhyantya until she reached grade 3. Due to school work and board examinations, she took a break. During this break she continued to practice and even participated in college events, Korean cultural festivals and also played at Fete de la Musique (German festival). Since the passion for all genres of music still remained (be it classical, k-pop, contemporary) she decided to join the Studio and learn under Sonam in early 2019, to pursue her interests with a fresh start. She has completed her Grade 5 Trinity examinations with Distinction and also listens to classical music as a hobby. She has completed her master's in Psychology from Nowrosjee Wadia College. Nandita hopes to integrate her experiences, spread the knowledge of Western classical music and impart the joy of playing the piano.
Vishwesh Majali: Teacher
Vishwesh has been learning Piano since the early age of 5 with Mr. Hemant Godbole. In 2008 he started learning at Gunjarav School of Music under the tutelage of Nakul Jogdeo. He won the 1st Position in the Junior Division category at MusiQuest 2011. He passed Grade 8 TCL piano examination with Distinction in 2019-20. He has also performed live for plays and various music festivals. He is also been a Piano Accompanist at the Suzuki School of Violin since August 2018 and currently teaching at Gunjarav School of Music and Studio Meraki. He has received guidance from Karl Lutchmayer, Sonam Lodhi & Parvesh Java.
Nishant Nanwani: Teacher
Inspired by pianists like October, Nishant started his own journey with this wonderful instrument in 2016. Though he was self taught initially, his natural aptitude for the instrument allowed him to build a solid foundation before he joined Studio Meraki in 2018 as a student. He passed his Grade 5 Piano practical exam from Trinity College London with Distinction and strives to improve his overall performance and skill set. Nishant has topped the department in his Diploma in Automobile Engineering from AISSMS Polytechnic and completed a Bachelor’s Degree in the same from Dhole Patil College of Engineering. He loves sharing his joy of music having performed on different stages for cultural and college events along with piano recitals. He has been constantly nurtured under the guidance of Sonam Lodhi who continues to be a great support and mentor in his musical journey. He has been actively fostering younger as well as older beginner pianists and helping them kindle their passion for over 3 years.
Mohak Shamani: Teacher
Mohak Shamani started his musical training with Asmita Shah at Angel Music Academy and later moved to learning with Sonam Lodhi at Studio Meraki. With time Mohak discovered his passion for teaching and joined Mad Over Music Academy as Faculty for Keyboard in addition to teaching privately at his own music school, Symphony School of Music. He has prepared students for Trinity College London examinations. In 2017, Mohak and Caroline Menezes were runners-up for their duet performance at MusiQuest- a national piano competition organised by the Academy of Music, Pune. Mohak has completed his MBA and has passed his Grade 7 Piano Examination with Distinction. MnM Foundations- an online learning platform was founded by Mohak in 2022 to aid working professionals to pursue their passion for music.
Alina Mirchandani: Teacher
Alina Mirchandani has been learning the piano since she was 7 years old, initially with Ms Tanaz Irani & then with Miss Sonam Lodhi since 2017. Alina loves music and she has completed her grade 8 trinity practical with a distinction. Along with teaching that she started in 2021, she is also preparing for her Advanced Certificate Piano Exam. She has also finished her Trinity theory exams till grade 5. Alina has joined Studio Meraki as a teacher in July of 2023.
Priyabrata Panigrahi: Audio & Visual Head
Priyabrata Panigrahi is a Sound engineer and film composer by profession. He is a graduate of the prestigious Film & Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune. After completing his B.Tech in Electronics & Telecommunications from Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, he chose to pursue his dream career in Film making. He has been working in the Indian Film and Advertising Industry since 8 years now and has been a part of a lot of major projects. His latest major project as a music composer was; ‘The Last Color’, a feature film directed by Chef Vikas Khanna, which was in the running for the Oscars in 2019. He has a dozen web-series to his name and has also worked as a sound recordist in Mirzapur Season 2 and Inside Edge Season 3. He has also composed music for various television, web and radio commercials. Apart from this, Priyabrata is a trained Hindustani Classical vocalist and is also training now for Western Classical Music under Sonam Lodhi . He has a keen interest in experimenting with recording techniques and microphone patterns. He is also a part-time video editor and has edited most of the Studio Meraki’s videos. Priyabrata also loves teaching Cinema and its applications in real life. He often conducts workshops regarding the same. Priyabrata believes that it is possible to achieve masterful craftsmanship even with minimalistic equipments.
Neeta Lodhi: Administrator
Mrs. Lodhi has an illustrious career span of 32 years in academics and administration. She has served as the Headmistress of S.M Choksey High School & Junior College and has efficiently looked after the institution from Pre-Primary to Junior College for 17 years. During her tenure, she introduced varied activities for the students and brought about several infrastructural changes. Under her guidance & mentorship, the institution scaled great heights, winning several inter-school national and international competitions while maintaining consistently high academic results. As Administrator, Mrs. Lodhi’s role is to streamline the scheduling of classes, payment of fees and maintain records for the smooth & efficient working of the Studio.
Hoshnar Kaikobad: Creative/ Visual Art Team member
Born and brought up in the city of Pune, Hoshnar has held solo and group exhibitions along with other artists in Mumbai and Pune at Nehru Centre - Mumbai, Army and Navy Building - Mumbai, Bliss Art Gallery, Aperture India Art Gallery, Darpan Art Gallery Balgandharva Kala Dalan and Raja Ravi Verma Art Gallery to name a few. Hoshnar is an active member of the ‘Society of Indian Marine Artists (SIMA). Although painting remains his passion and forte, Hoshnar has also worked as a Graphic Designer with Tata Interactive Systems and Praxis Technologies in Mumbai. In January 2007, he got the opportunity to work with Aamir Khan Productions, painting the artwork in the room of Prateik Babbar’s character Amit in the movie “Jaane Tu …Ya Jaane Na”. And a couple of years later he painted a backdrop for the movie “My Friend Pinto”.