This tabla player is drumming some of music's top hits for eager Windsor audiences

Krutarth Shitut came to Windsor, Ont., for a master's degree in mechanical engineering, but it's his tabla performances that are getting him noticed.

The tabla is a pair of hand drums from South Asia, known for its distinct bell-like tones and bass strokes. The sound is considered essential when it comes Indian classical music.

But it's Shitut's impressive abilities to fuse the sound with some of pop music's biggest hits that's gaining him attention in the city. 

"When I moved here, I was very much, you know, depressed in in the beginning, because everyone has homesickness when one is away from home, so at that time, when I was practicing music," Shitut, who is originally from Gujarat, India, told CBC News.

"It actually kept me away from all those negative feelings, and it also gave me a new personality here as a tabla player, so I feel very nice."

Shitut said he began playing the instrument when he was about seven years old, and says he was hesitant to bring the tabla with him to Canada for fear it would take up too much space. He did it anyway, since he loves it so much. 

Soon after being in Canada, he started to be asked to play at restaurants, weddings and for private lessons. 

"It was just a blessing," he said. 

As for what Shitut plays along to, he says he started choosing mainstream music in 2016 and has fun playing along with popular songs. 

"It's actually free-styling," said Shitut.

"I have been playing for a number of years so it's actually listening to the song and playing at random so even I don't know what I'm playing but it kind of goes with the song."