Electric guitar with a Band Camp band, a Tapes session on an Andy James piece, and one graded exam along the way. Dustin passed RSL Grade 1 on acoustic guitar with a Distinction at 95 per cent.

Lava Lamp for Grade 2, Sweet Child O’ Mine for Grade 3, and three years of rudiments underneath. The hard part was never the drumming - it was finding the time. Myra Nigam passed Trinity Grade 2 on drum kit with a Merit.

Her parents thought an exam would give her direction. Maya Arun wanted to learn songs and get them right. At nine she passed RSL Grade 1 in classical piano with a Merit.

Enakshi Mookherjee learned to sing beside her mother, a trained Hindustani classical singer. At eighteen she has carried that into a different tradition and passed her Trinity Rock & Pop Grade 5 vocal exam with a Merit.

Gavin Samson sat his Rockschool Grade 3 drum exam knowing exactly what it was for. He wanted a diploma, and this was the first part. Three pieces, and 90 marks with a Distinction.

Advay Praveen was three when his grandmother gave him a toy keyboard. He is twelve now, has four graded exams behind him, and passed RSL Grade 3 in classical piano with a Merit at 79% - his first exam with a new exam board.

Atharv Venkatesh began with Carnatic vocals and worked out fairly quickly that what interested him was underneath the melody. He moved to the drums, and at twelve he has passed his RSL Grade 2 exam with a Distinction at 93%.

Sathya Ganesh was seven when he decided that rhythm is what holds a song together, and that he wanted to play that part. Nine years on he passed Trinity Rock & Pop Grade 8 - the highest grade the board offers - with a Merit.

Satwika Sridhar learned piano as a child and stopped when college took over. When she came back years later she did not start at the beginning - she set herself at Trinity Grade 6, and passed with a Merit.

Felicia Irene Deborah initially wanted to learn keyboard and took up the guitar instead. After 18 months of learning at Trill Route, she passed her RSL acoustic guitar exam with a Merit.

For Syree, the hardest part of his Trinity Rock & Pop Grade 2 was not the playing. It was the recording - and the rules for a submitted performance explain why.

For Vipul Thakkar, drums were always an instrument he felt drawn to. The sound of percussion caught his attention every time he heard it, and he often wondered if drumming was something he could genuinely pursue. Outside music, Vipul works in advertising - he runs his own agency, creates ad films, and frequently collaborates with music composers. He’s always been closely connected to the creative side of music through his work: guiding composers, briefing them on what he need

At 18, Akash Gollerkeri has already carved out a space for himself as a guitarist. A Bangalore native and longtime student at Trill Route, Akash plays both electric and acoustic guitar, but it is the electric guitar that has become his true voice. His playing is distinguished by a flair for improvisation. Akash’s journey began in the 6th grade, when he picked up the acoustic guitar under the mentorship of Varun and Aarabhy. Those first two years were formative, giving him not

Vihaan Varior began his musical journey at Trill Route as a guitarist, building a solid foundation over three years. His transition to the bass guitar happened during a band camp hosted at Trill Route, where a surplus of guitarists led to him being asked to try the bass instead. Though he had never played the instrument before, he took it on with curiosity. That moment proved to be a turning point- quickly connected with the bass and made a full switch soon after. For the pas

At just 14, Siddhanth Shyamsundar has already built a musical identity that many guitarists work years to develop. A Bangalore-based electric guitarist and a longtime student at Trill Route, Siddhanth’s playing is marked by precision, passion, and a powerful sense of rhythm and groove. He’s particularly drawn to progressive metal and metalcore - genres that challenge even the most seasoned players - and has spent the last several years honing his skills through consistent pra