Its activities span various areas of music education which include organizing concerts and pre-concert lectures, classes (theory and performance), workshops, and archival research.

Chhandayan traces its roots to 1984 in Kolkata, India where it used to organize Indian classical music concerts designed to offer a platform for young musicians.

Over the next several years, the organization added more students and faculty, eventually forming local chapters in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and Florida.

Although modern technology has created the ability to reach students across the world, music instruction at Chhandayan is generally based upon the Guru-shishya tradition.

There is an annual four-day Tabla workshop each summer run by Samir Chatterjee which draws students of all levels from various parts of North America.

Affiliated faculty members who have run workshops in the past include Ajoy Chakrabarty (Vocal), Shujaat Khan (Sitar), Nayan Ghosh (Tabla), and other top Indian classical musicians.

Among the most prominent Chhandayan students include: Daniel Weiss,[10] Eric Phinney,[11] Bodek Janke,[12] Debu Nayak,[13] Frank Colón, Dibyarka Chatterjee,[14] Ranendra Das,[15] among others.

It has published approximately ten works in the form of recorded media including an audiobook on the style and diction of Rabindranath Tagore which is currently in final editorial stages.

For example, Chhandayan allows students to make non-financial contributions (namely, volunteering in the offices of CCIM) to expand the community's access to its educational resources.

In 2009, Chatterjee composed and directed "Tablaphilia," a symphony for twenty-five Tabla players and four vocalists which interprets the four stages of life according to Hindu philosophy (ashramas).

Chhandayan's presence in various geographic footprints provides young artists with not only an audience through the Concert Series, but also access to mentorship, audience-building tools, and performance and teaching opportunities.

Based on Chhandayan's network of matured musicians, the All-Night Concert provides an opportunity to hear and understand ragas, the underpinning melodic structures and scales of Indian classical music, at the late night and early morning hours.

The Jyotsna Awards are considered a high accolade within the genre and its recipients have made significant contributions toward the growth of Indian classical music in North America.

Raga-Rock, a collaboration of Indian classical and Pakistani Sufi rock music with Salman Ahmed, performed at the Nobel Peace Prize Award Ceremony in Oslo in 2007.

Chhandayan maintains close ties with senior faculty of The Pandit Jasraj Institute for Music, Research, Artistry and Appreciation (PJIM).