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Pandit Sharda Sahai (1935-2011) was a tabla player and teacher from Varanasi, India. Sahai began performing publicly at age 9, and at age 16, drew major attention when he performed at the Italee Music Conference in Calcutta with Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, a sarod maestro. In 1965 he was awarded "A Grade Artist" status by All India Radio. In the same year, he founded Pandit Ram Sahai Sangit Vidyalaya, an institute for training Indian classical music and dance. During his lifetime, Sahai performed his music around the world and held teaching positions at western universities including Dartington College of Arts and Oxford University.