Neel Adhikari
Neel is a singer songwriter and a music director. His songs speak of little things, the struggles of life and making it work. Sometimes sarcastic, sometimes earnest, and often just funny, he’s a storyteller in song. His sound is electro acoustic.
Natasha Carroll
Natauku is an Indie, singer-songwriter and music producer from Bangalore, India. Her songs are ukulele centric, with a focus on poetic lyrics about her perception of life, riddled with dark humour. She is now working on several singles and an EP independently.
Please join Natasha's Intuitive Songwriting workshop.
Vaisakh Somanath
Vaisakh Somanath is a singer/songwriter from Kerala whose songs largely revolve around social and ecological justice. He picked up the ukulele and naturally started writing soulful/bluesy melodies on it. He writes simple and quirky yet thoughtful and profound lyrics in Tamil and Malayalam with a soul/jazz/r&b approach in his melodies. His debut EP Thevai (released in 2019) was about alternative lifestyle. His single "Death of January" won him the Best Rock/Blues/Alternative Song of the Year Award at The Indies 2024. He is so happy to be back at Mahalo for the fourth time.
Christina Fernandes
Christina is one of the founders of the Mahalo Goa Ukulele Festival. She is a photojournalist by background but now works as Permaculture and Green Educator as well as Sustainability Trainer. She uses the ukulele in her nature education sessions, yoga classes and to support kids in a healing programme run by the Bring Hope Foundation in the refugee camps of northern Iraq.
Join Christina's Ukulele Song Circle on the Beach to start your day on the right note.
Anirban Halder
Anirban is a self taught musician from the City of Calcutta. He moved to Goa in 2010 and formed his band Electric Pulse which is now one of the prominent Classic Rock Acts in Goa. He is very prominent in the Goa music circuit and is always collaborating with different artists for shows in Goa and around the country. Anirban has a passion for all kinds of music and art. He loves to teach kids and has encouraged many young minds on the musical path. Anirban is one of the founders of the Mahalo Goa Ukulele Festival.
Kaviya S
Kaviya is a ukulele teacher and artist with 3+ years of experience, bringing music to students of all ages from curious 5 year olds to first time players at 50, with a firm belief that it’s impossible not to smile when you pick up a ukulele. A songwriter at heart, she writes to make sense of the world and loves taking long walks.
Please join Kavita's Tiny Strums Kids Workshop.
Luv Mahtani
Luv Mahtani is a Pune-based ukulele educator, community organiser, and performer who has been teaching since 2017. Having trained through the James Hill Ukulele Initiative and taught students across age groups and skill levels, Luv blends structured technique with creativity, making concepts like rhythm, arrangement, and musicality feel accessible and empowering. As a facilitator of community jams, workshops, and collaborative performances, Luv believes the ukulele is not just an instrument, but a tool for connection and shared experience.
Please join Luv's Two Chords, One Melody workshop.
Eden Mehdiabadi
Eden Mehdiabadi is the founder of Empower Physiotherapy Clinic, based in Pune. Being trained in community physiotherapy, she has developed a special interest in working with groups to raise awareness about posture, movement efficiency, and injury prevention through workshops and interactive sessions, so they can move with greater ease, confidence, and longevity in their craft/profession.
Come join Eden's Ukulele Body Tuning Workshop and learn how to prevent repetitive strain injury from praciting ukulele.
Akshay Chowdry
AXE.SHAY (Akshay) is a composer, singer-songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist from Goa, India, and the great-grandson of renowned Indian classical Thumri artist Naina Devi.
A graduate of the University of Southern California (2007), he began his journey in the independent scene with the band Barefaced Liar. Blending his love for rock, blues, and both Western and Indian classical traditions, he later founded Three Kings Recording Studio and
has composed music for advertising, television, and film.
During the global pause in 2020, he immersed himself in music production and mixing, while continuing advanced tutelage under Indian slide guitar pioneer Pt. Debashish Bhattacharya. This
mentorship led to their collaboration on the instrumental “Love in Kyoto”, a meeting of classical roots and modern sensibilities.
These influences shape his forthcoming debut solo EP/album, scheduled for release in 2025.
Aliya Fernandes
Aliya is a passionate artist and musician. She expresses herself through painting, drawing, ukulele, singing and sometimes even piano. Please join her Paint the Sound workshop, a creative journey that combines music and painting in a unique and fun way.
Pune Uke Club
Pune Uke Club is a vibrant community of ukulele enthusiasts led by Luv Mahtani (Ukulele With Luv, Strum Away Collective), a certified ukulele teacher and performer. Focused on building a supportive and creative space, the club gathers both online and offline to learn, jam, and celebrate the ukulele. With themed sessions, community jams, and quarterly performances, the club encourages musicians of all skill levels to grow and connect. Pune Uke Club is thrilled to represent Pune’s ukulele scene at the Mahalo Goa Ukulele Festival 2025, sharing its spirit of harmony and fun!
Keaton Fernandes
Keaton is a talented guitarist and singer who still plays the ukulele occasionally (when his mother asks nicely). He also loves design technology and experimenting with building his own instruments and electronics. Come join his Experimental Uke Lab workshop and learn how to electrify an ukulele and use various pedals.