Latest Coverage
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Ronu Majumdar
Ranendranath Majumdar, popularly known as Ronu Majumdar, is a renowned Indian flautist. He is firmly rooted in the Maihar Gharana and trained under the guidance of his father Dr. Bhanu Majumdar, Pandit Lakshman Prasad Jaipurwale, Pandit Vijay Raghav Rao and Pandit Ravi Shankar. Majumdar has been felicitated with many accolades for his memorable performances worldwide. He composed music for India’s first I-Max film ‘Mystic India’ and has led a concert of 5,378 flautists on one stage called ‘Venu Naad’ under the banner of ‘Art of Living’. The event was recorded by the Guinness Book of World Records. Majumdar was awarded with an All India Radio Award, a Grammy Nomination, Aditya Vikram Birla Award, Lifetime Achievement Award by Sahara India, National Kumar Gandharva Award and Sangeet Natak Academy Award for his contribution to Hindustani Instrumental Music.
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Ruchira Kedar
Ruchira Kedar is a leading young vocalist of the Gwalior-Jaipur gharana. Training initially under her father, Dilip Kale, Kedar learnt the intricacies of vocal music from Dr. Alaka Deo Marulkar. Thereafter, she received a residential scholarship at ITC Sangeet Research Academy, Kolkata, and received invaluable guidance from her current guru, Pandit Ulhas Kashalkar. She also took lessons in Thumri, Dadra, Hori, and Kajri from Vidushi Girija Devi. Ruchira is involved in student-mentoring at the Lalit Kala Kendra, University of Pune.
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Sabir Khan
Sabir Khan is an Indian Classical musician known for his mastery of sarangi. He is the ninth generation musicians from his family to take up the instrument. Khan is the great grandson of Ustad Azim Khan, grandson of Ustad Gulab Khan, nephew of Hanif Khan and cousin of Dilshad Khan. He began his training under the guidance of his father, Ustad Sultan Khan, and uncle, Ustad Nasir Khan, and belongs to Sikar Gharana of Music. He has performed alongside his father and other great artists such as Ustad Zakir Hussain, Pandit Kumar Bose, Pandit Anindo Chatterjee, Ustad Gulam Ali, Talat Aziz, Asha Bhosle and The Hazards. Khan has also played in several feature films like Chameli, Rog, Dor, Anwar, Sanwariya, Chhodon Naa Yaar, Jodha Akbar and more recently Amma.
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Saket Sahu
Born on July 23, 1986, Saket Sahu learnt the violin for 15 years from Pandit Radhakrishna Jha, from the age of 5. He has completed his MA in Music (Violin) from Indira Kala Music University, Khairagarh. A recipient of ‘Sur Ratna’ and gold medal from Bhatkhande Lalit Kala, he also won the All India Radio music competition in 2006, ITC Sangeet Research Academy Promising Artistes award in Mumbai (2007), ‘Surmani’ from Sur Singar Samsad Mumbai (2007), National Scholarship (2007-2008) and the Kal Ke Kalakar award from Abhinav Kala Parishad, Bhopal. He has performed in several parts of India. Since May 2009, he has joined the ITC Sangeet Research Academy as a disciple of Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty under whom he is learning the gayaki ang. He is now an A grade scholar here.
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Sameehan Kashalkar
Sameehan Kashalkar is one of the youngest upcoming musicians of the Gwalior gharana. He is the son and disciple of one of India’s most renowned vocalists, Pandit Ulhas Kashalkar. Kashalkar is a Scholar at the ITC Sangeet Research Academy and is undergoing training in Thumri and other light classical forms from the legendary Vidushi Girija Devi of the Banaras tradition. He has performed in major festivals including the ITC Sangeet Sammelans in Kolkata, Hyderabad, Mangalore; Pandit Jitendra Abhisheki Sangeet Mahotsav in Pune, the Asian Music Circuit in London, renowned ‘Darbar Festival’ in London, Sawai Gandharva Festival in Pune, SIFAS Festival in Singapore and Malaysia, amongst many others. Kashalkar currently teaches music at the Bengal Parampara Sangeetalaya, in Dhaka.
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Sandip Bhattacharjee
Born in 1980, Sandip Bhattacharjee began his training under his mother Krishna Bhattacharya at the age of four and continued his taalim under Amita Dasgupta. In May 2002 he became a residential scholar at the ITC Sangeet Research Academy under the guidance of Ustad Mashkoor Ali Khan. An 'A' graded artiste of AIR and Doordarshan, he has participated in several major concerts in India, including the Dover Lane Conference. Sandip regularly conducts workshops in Guwahati and Digboi, Assam. As of June 2012, Sandip has become a Musician Scholar of the Academy.
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Sanjeev Abhyankar
Sanjeev Abhyankar is a noted vocalist from India, a torchbearer of the Mewati Gharana. He trained under the guidance of his mother Shobha Abhyankar, Pandit Pimpalkhare of the Gwalior Gharana and Padma Vibhushan Pandit Jasraj of the Mewati Gharana. Abhyankar’s performances are marked by his grace and versatility. He has toured extensively in India and abroad. Abhyankar is a recipient of the President’s Award, Kumar Gandharva National Award, the National Award, FIE Foundation National Award, The Rotary Vocational Excellence Award, Pandit Jasraj Gaurav Puraskar, the title of ‘Sur-Ratna’, amongst many others.
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Sanjoy Bandopadhyay
Sanjoy Bandopadhyay is a distinguished sitar artist from India. Apart from a successful career as a performer, he is also known as a guru and an academician. Bandopadhyay primarily trained under Pandit Radhika Mohan Maitra and Pandit Bimalendu Mukherjee, but also received training from his father Pandit Peejush Prasanna Bandopadhyay, Pandit Manas Chakraborty, and Dr. M R Gautam. His performances are marked by exemplary spontaneity in musical expressions and he has performed at many prestigious events in India and abroad, including a show at the Plenary Session of UNESCO. Bandopadhyay served as ‘Artist in Residence’ at the University of Chicago and University of Colorado. He is currently the Chair Professor (Ustad Allauddin Khan Chair) at the Department of Instrumental Music, Director of S M Tagore Centre of Documentation & Research of Languishing & Obsolescent Musical Instruments, Coordinator of the UGC SAP-DRS Research Project of the Department of Instrumental Music at Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata.
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Saskia Rao-de Haas
Saskia Rao-de Haas is a renowned cellist and composer from the Netherlands, based in India. She trained in the disciplines of the western music, but changed her focus after coming into contact with Indian music in 1993. She began her training under Tibor de Machula and later studied the cello at the Conservatory of Rotterdam, specialising in Indian classical music under Koustav Ray and Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, while finishing her masters in Ethnomusicology from the University of Amsterdam. Critics and audiences have praised her for artistic depth and technical virtuosity. Haas is credited for creating the ‘Indian cello’ and the ‘Veena d’ Amore’ - a smaller, electro acoustic cello. She has extensively toured through North America, Europe and Asia; performing at numerous prestigious shows and venues. Haas was the first female foreign artist to have performed at the prestigious Doverlane Music conference in Kolkata. Other notable Indian shows include performances at Legends of India in New Delhi, Saptak Festival in Ahmdehabad, Vasanta Habbha in Bangalore, Maihar festival, and Haridas Sangeet Samelan in Lucknow. She is a recipient of the Pandit Jasraj -Rotary Club of Hyderabad Award and Delhi Ratna. Haas, along with Shubhendra Rao, runs a foundation to promote Indian music education.
