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Bengaluru: Kedarnath Nagaraj Rao Havaldar, an accomplished Hindusthani Classical Tabla player has a new feather in his cap due to the accomplishment of the feat of undergoing the 40-day Chilla penance with the Tabla instrument recently. He is widely known for having enthralled audiences worldwide with his laykaari as an accompanist and a Tabla solo artist. He took time to share his experiences of the 40-day solitude with Tabla. Here are the excerpts: Q: What is Chilla and why did you think of venturing the same? Kedarnath Havaldar: Chilla in the Persian language means the number 40. However, when it came to philosophy and spiritualism, the Sufi saints practised penance for 40 days and the same trend continued even in music as well. Interestingly, the same has been evinced more among the Hindusthani classical musicians. From that perspective, many people have been at it since the good old days. The reason why I indulged in Chilla was more of a necessity and to get more insight, and mo