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Raja Reddy & Radha Reddy
Raja and Radha Reddy are a dancing couple renowned as exponents of the South Indian dance form of Kuchipudi. The duo are credited for adding a new dimension to the art without compromising on its traditional virtues.
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Rajan Mishra and Sajan Mishra
Rajan (born in 1951) and Sajan (born in 1956) Mishra are brothers. They were brought up in Varanasi and received their musical training from their grandfather, Bade Ram Das Ji Mishra, their father, Hanuman Prasad Mishra, and their uncle, sarangi virtuoso, Gopal Prasad Mishra. The Mishra brothers have released over 20 music albums in genres ranging from classical Khayal gayaki, to semi classical tappa and bhajans. They were awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2007, the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, jointly in 1998 and the Gandharwa National Award for 1994-95.
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Rajrupa Chowdhury
Rajrupa Chowdhury took up the sarod at age five and trained under Sidhhartha Roy Chowdhury for twenty years. Brought up in the legacy of Pandit Radhika Mohan Maitra of Rajshahi and Kolkata, she received top honors in Masters in Instrumental Music from the Rabindra Bharati University. She receives advanced taalim from Professor Sanjoy Bandopadhyay who continues to inspire and nurture her approach towards North Indian Classical music. Rajrupa Chowdhury has performed all around the world and has received several awards.
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Rakesh Chaurasia
Rakesh Chaurasia is an acclaimed flautist from India. He is a student and nephew of the iconic maestro Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia. R Chaurisia has been known to perform as a solo act, as well as with other musicians including Ustad Zakir Hussain, Bela Fleck, Edgar Meyer, and Joshua Redman, amongst others. He has extensively toured in India and abroad – some of his notable shows include WOMAD, Festival of Saint-Denis in Paris, the Leicester International Music Festival in England and – most notably – a conclusion act for a twenty-four hour live BBC Radio broadcast celebrating Queen Elizabeth’s Silver Jubilee. Chaurisia is a recipient of the Indian Music Academy Award, Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam Award, Aditya Birla Kalakiran Puraskar, Guru Shishya Award, IWAP-Pandit Jasraj Sangeet Ratna Award and Pannalal Ghosh Puraskar.
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Ramdas Palsule
Ramdas Palsule is a tabla artist from India. He is a senior disciple of Pandit Suresh Talwalkar and has performed in prestigious events in India and abroad. Palsule is known to perform as a soloist, as well as an accompanying artist. His notable accompaniments include performances with Pandit Jasraj, Pandit Ram Narayan, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Pandit Shivkumar Sharma, Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, Pandit Birju Maharaj, Pandit Ulhas Kashalkar, Ustad Shahid Parvez, Ustad Sultan Khan, Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, , Dr. N Rajam, , Prabha Atre, and numerous others. Palasule is presently a Guru at the Center for Performing Arts, University of Pune.
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Ranjani and Gayatri
Ranjani and Gayatri Balasubramanian are world-renowned Carnatic vocalists and violinists from India. The sisters began their training at a very early age under the guidance of Prof. T S Krishnaswami at the Shanmukhananda Sangeeta Vidyalaya. They have appeared as soloists, as well as a duo, and have been known to accompany renowned artists like Dr. Balamurali Krishna and T Vishwanathan, amongst others. The sisters are a recipient of numerous awards which include the Vani Kala Sudhakara from Thyaga Brahma Gana Sabha, Lifetime Achievement award from Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Sangeeta Kala Siromani Award from Chennai Cultural Academy, Sanskriti Awards, Kalki Krishnamurthi Memorial Award, amongst many others.
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Rashid Khan
Rashid Khan is a distinguished vocalist from India. He belongs to the Rampur-Sahaswan Gharana, and is the great-grandson of Inayat Hussain Khan and the nephew of Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan. Khan began his training under the guidance of his uncle and later from Nissar Hussain Khan. Khan is known to include the slow elaboration in his vilambit khayals in the manner of his maternal grandfather and developed exceptional expertise in the use of sargams and sargam taankari. His vocal prowess is considered to be one best in the tradition of the Rampur Sahaswan gharana and his performances are marked by spontaneous emotional appeal. Khan was awarded with the Padma Shri, as well as the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2006, Global Indian Music Awards in 2010, and the Maha Sangeet Samman 2012.
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Ratish Tagde
Ratish Tagde is a violinist from India. He began his training under the guidance of his father S V Tagde. Ratish Tagde first started learning the tabla initially but eventually moved on to play the violin. Apart from being a performer, he also pursued the academic side of music, earning hisearned his undergraduate and post-graduate degrees from reputable universitiesin music. Tagde has performed in prestigious shows in India and abroad. He is the creator of the show ‘Insync’, and is the President of Musician’s Federation of India – affiliated to International Federation of Musicians & Member of International Music Council (Paris). In acknowledgement of his contributions to Indian classical music, Tagde was awarded with the National Excellence Awards and Asia Pacific Entrepreneurship Award in 2015.
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Reenat Fauzia
Reenat Fauzia, born in 1967, comes of a world-renowned family of musicians. She is the grand daughter of Ustad Ayet Ali Khan, the legendary maestro of music of the subcontinent, brother of Surshamrat Ustad Alauddin Khan, the world famous maestro of music. Her father, Mr. Mobarak Hossain Khan is a distinguished musicologist and litterateur and mother Mrs. Fauzia Khan is a famous vocal artist. Her uncles Ustad Abed Hossain Khan, Ustad Bahadur Hossain Khan and music director Sheikh Sadi Khan are famous names in the same field. Her family originates from the village of Shibpur, Brahmanbaria district. The melody of music is something spontaneous in her being. She was attracted to music since her childhood. She drew her inspiration to play on Sitar out of her love for the wonderful instrument, which is a part of her family tradition. Reenat started her training in music lessons from her cousin Shahadat Hossain Khan, reputed Sarod player of Bangladesh. Later, she received her Guru-Shishya-Parampara music training from her cousin Ustad Khurshid Khan, a distinguished Sitar preceptor. She has been a disciple of her guru ( mentor) for more than twenty five years. Reenat completed a five years certificate course on Sitar from ‘Chhayanaut’, a pioneering music institute of Bangladesh. Reenat started playing Sitar in Bangladesh Television from 1987. She is an enlisted ‘Special’ grade classical artiste of Bangladesh Television and Radio Bangladesh. She also plays Sitar on other T.V. channels of the country. Her first c.d. on Sitar recital entitled ‘A Touch of Love’ was released in 2004. Later, four more entitled ‘Tribute to Grandfather Ustad Ayet Ali Khan’, ‘Haramanik’, ‘Raag Onurag’ and ‘Sweet Dreams’ have been added to her credit. As a member of the family of Ustad Alauddin Khan she is a follower of ‘Seni Maihar Gharana’ or ‘Seni Alauddin Gharana’. This is a new gharana introduced in the realm of Hindustani classical music by Ustad Alauddin Khan. Ustad Alauddin Khan was the disciple of Wazir Khan, a descendant of Mian Tansen, the great musician. He accepted the style of his guru and later on blended it with his own style and thus the subcontinent was enriched with a new and rich gharana. With the style of this gharana Reenat is practicingSitar intensively in quest for the excellence and zest for a life of music. The sheer virtuosity and melodies in her fingers, which she has achieved, have already attracted the attention of classical music lovers of the country. She got ‘Anonna Shirsho Dosh podok’ (Anonna top ten award) for her outstanding performance in Instrumental music in the year 2010. Reenat Fauzia has a brilliant academic career. She obtained her M.Sc. in Home Economics, from DhakaUniversity, and Post Graduate Diploma from ‘Mastricht School of Management’, Netherlands. Recently she has completed her M.Phil. thesis on Music entitled ‘Innovation and Development of Traditional Musical Instruments of Bangladesh’. She joined the Bangladesh Civil Service (Education) in 1993, and is at present an Associate Professor in the College of Home Economics. Reenat has a wide experience in traveling different countries.
