KATHMANDU, Sept 8: Pandit Hom Nath Upadhyaya, veteran Nepali tabla maestro, died on Wednesday at Om Hospital, Kathmandu, Dr Hari Kishor Shrestha, managing director of the hospital, informed. He was 72. Upadhyaya was battling colon cancer and passed away at 4.25 pm, according to Shrestha.

Trained both in Nepal and India, Upadhyaya did his MA in Music from Allahabad's Prayag Sangeet Samiti. While in India, Upadhyaya played tabla as a part of famed Bollywood music director S D Burman's orchestra. In his more than four-decade-long illustrious career, Upadhyaya performed extensively throughout Europe and USA.

As an instructor, he mentored talents at the then Royal Nepal Academy. He was recently working as a faculty at the University of California, Santa Barbara. His son Pramod Upadhyaya is also a well-known tabla player.

Upadhyaya has published two books on the art of tabla playing - 'From Kashi to Kashmir' and 'Rhythmic Garland'. His latest album was 'Sadhana' released in 2012 was a collaboration with American multi-instrumentalist Paul Livingstone.