Ustad Amjad Ali Khan

A distinguished maestro in the field of playing Sarod, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan is popularly known as the "Sarod Samrat". He is the sixth generation Sarod player in his renowned family. The credit of modifying the Sarod as a classical instrument goes to his ancestors of the Bangash lineage originating from Senia Bangash School of Music. The present day Sarod has been derived by modifying the ancient folk instrument of Iran known as Rabab. Ustad Amjad Ali Khan has come to this stage of life after much determination and hard work. Read his life history in this short biography of Amzad Ali Khan.

Amjad Ali Khan was born on 9th October, 1945 at a place called Gwalior located in Madhya Pradesh. His father Ustad Hafiz Ali Khan was a musician in the court of the royal family of Gwalior. He received training from the descendants of Miyan Tansen, who is considered to be the greatest musician of all times. Amjad Ali Khan was the youngest son in his family. His first tutor was his father and he began playing at a very young age. At the mere age of twelve years, Amjad Ali Khan gave his first solo recital. The rest as they say is history. It was his love for the instrument and passion for music that made him famous and recognized as one of the greatest Sarod players.

Amjad Ali Khan has contributed immensely in the field of classical music. He plays the Sarod with his finger nails instead of finger tips. This gives a clear ringing sound and is also the most difficult technique to apply on the Sarod. This innovative genius has composed many ragas of his own like Kiran Ranjani, Haripriya Kanada, Shivanjali, Shyam Shri, Suhag Bhairav, Lalit Dhwani, Amiri Todi, Jawahar Manjari and Bapukauns. He has also acquired international acclaim by composing for the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra. It was titled "Tribute to Hong Kong". The other musicians involved with this project were guitarist Charley Byrd, Violinist Igor Frolov, Suprano Glenda Simpson, Guitarist Barry Mason and UK Cellist Matthew Barley.

He has also given performances in Carnegie Hall, Royal Albert Hall, Royal Festival Hall, Kennedy Center, House of Commons, Singapore, Mozart Hall in Frankfurt, Chicago Symphony Center, St. James Palace and the Opera House in Australia. The talented musician has received Honorary Citizenship to the States of Texas, Massachusetts, Tennessee and the city of Atlanta. Amjad Ali Khan is the first north Indian artist to have performed in honor of Saint Thyagaraja at the Thiruvaiyur shrine. He has also been a recipient of many awards like Padmashree Award, Sangeet Natak Academy Award, Tansen Award, UNESCO Award, UNICEF National Ambassadorship, Padma Bhushan, International Music Forum Award, etc. Amjad Ali Khan has two sons who are promising Sarod players. The legacy shall live on.

Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan

One name that truly epitomizes the 20th century Hindustani classical music tradition is that of Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan. Often touted as the Tansen of 20th Century, this music maestro has blended the best of classical music and created a unique style of his own. His style of music had an effervescent melodic quality with a sense of enthusiasm. He had one of the most flexible voices, which could easily master the flow of words and deliver the real essence of the song. This great musician has contributed immensely in his short career span. Read his life history in this short biography of Bade Ghulam Ali Khan.

Bade Ghulam Ali Khan was born in the year 1902 in the great musical lineage from Kasur, located in Western Punjab. He blended the best of the four traditions of music: Patiala that was own, the elements of Dhrupad, the delicacy of Jaipur and the embellishments of Gwalior. Bade Ghulam Ali looked beyond the "Bol-banav" tradition of Thumri. He wanted to break the age old tradition and wanted to play with the notes with greater abandon and less restraint. This kind of Thumri is now well established by the efforts of Bade Ghulam Ali Khan.

He approached the traditional form of Khayal without much of changes. He did not want to create any sort of variations in the presentation. His style was straightforward, avoiding any sort of drastic changes in the style of presentation. He had an inclination of looking beyond the traditional method of toning a musical note to derive the perfect melody. This was usually achieved by very subtle modulation of notes. This tact was innate in Bade Ghulam Ali; he had the knack of playing with musical notations and find the perfect expression and melody.

The career span of Bade Ghulam Ali Khan was relatively short. He made his mark in Calcutta in the year 1938 and All India Music Conference in Bombay in the year 1944. He was titled the Master in each and every field of music that he explored. But, he breathed his last at the age of 66, much to the shock of his fans and music lovers. On 25th April, 1968 he breathed his last, depriving the world of much more priceless treasure that he could have given.

Bhimsen Joshi

One of the most prominent and legendary Hindustani vocalist living today is of course Pandit Bhimsen Joshi. He can very easily be called a living legend and someone who has not just earned true fans but has also won over critics. Born on 4th February, 1922 in Karnataka, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi is the descendant of Kirana stream of Hindustani classical music. He is famous for the "Khayal", a form of Hindustani classical. Bhimsen Joshi was interested in music since a very young age and at the age of 11 he left home in search of a Guru. Read the fascinating life history of Pt. Bhimsen Joshi in this short biography.

He found the apt teacher for him very close to his house. Under the tutelage of Savai Gandharva he learnt many ragas and perfected his tone, pitch and the best of Kirana gharana. His sheer determination and hard work has made him what he is today. In the last five decades, his popularity has increased manifold because of the intensity and passion he brings in his songs. Other concert artists truly appreciate his style and the passion that he gets into his songs. His first public performance was at the age of 19.

Bhimsen Joshi has perfected not just the Khayal interpretations but has also sung Bhajans in Hindi and Marathi. His bhajans are widely heard by not just ardent music lovers but people all over. This versatile singer has also recorded Kannada Dasa Krithis in Dasavani, which are usually sung by Carnatic musicians. His sheer grit and determination earned him his first Platinum Disc in 1986. He has also been presented the Padma Shree in 1972, the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1976 and the Padma Bhushan in 1985. Perhaps some of his best performances have been at Savai Gandharva Sangeet Mahotsav, which is held in Pune annually. It has been a regular feature since the past 3 decades and has become an institution of sorts.

His most memorable performance that is remembered till date is of course the national integration song "Mile Sur Mera Tumhara". His golden voice appealing to Indians to come together and stand as one nation is an evergreen number that is hummed by one and all even today. He has collaborated with many other renowned musicians like Hariprasad Chaurasiya, Pandit Ravi Shankar and Dr. Balamuralikrishna and has come out with many albums. He is a living legend who continues to weave magic with his unique voice even today

Pandit Kumar Gandharva

One of the most famous classical musicians in India was undoubtedly Pandit Kumar Gandharva. His real name was Shivaputra Siddharamayya Komkali. Pandit Kumar Gandharva was born on 8th April, 1924 in a place called Dharwad located in Karnataka. The most unique thing about him was that he refused to be tied down by any kind of Gharana and believed in being innovation and trying out his own new styles. The life history of Pandit Kumar Gandharva is truly fascinating. Read this short biography of Pt. Kumara Gandharv.

When he was still very young, Kumar Gandharva was inflicted with the deadly disease Tuberculosis. As a result, he was left with just one functioning lung. He was determined to make his mark and that is what took him to the heights he has reached in his lifetime. The title "Kumar" was given to him when he was a child because he showed extraordinary talent in music. Gandharva was the God of music according to the Hindu mythology.

Though his voice was affected after the illness, he developed his own style of singing. Though he may not have reached the same heights as his contemporaries like Bhimsen Joshi, his style won him appreciation and accolades from one and all. His style of pronunciation was unmatched and he believed that words, if pronounced properly with the correct feel can be very powerful. His style of singing also included many dramatic gestures and smiles, which was thoroughly enjoyed by his audience.

He also experimented with other genres of music like devotional songs known as "Bhajans", folk songs, etc. His unique style and creativity made him compose songs in the same Raga in both fast and slow pace; this was something rarely done by a north Indian musician. Though he refused to follow the tradition of a Gharana, he never rejected completely the rich tradition of music. The great legend passed away on 12th January, 1992, leaving behind disappointed fans but a rich legacy of classical music.

Dr. Balamurali Krishna

Dr. M. Balamuralikrishna is one of the pioneers in the field of both vocal as well as instrumental music. A multifaceted personality, he has been involved in music in its various forms. Dr M Balamuralikrishna is a singer, a music director, an actor and even an instrumentalist. He has attained mastery over instruments like Veena, Violin, Mridangam and Khanjira and can play them beautifully with the minimal of effort. Read on further to get the complete biography cum life history of Doctor Mangalampalli Balamurali Krishna.

Mangalampalli Balamurali Krishna was born to Mangalampalli Pattabhiramayya and Suryakanthamma on 6th July 1930. His birthplace is Sankaraguptam, a small town in Rajolu Taluk, which comes under the East Godavari District of Andhra Pradesh. Balamuralikrishna's father was a music teacher as well as a very popular flutist. Even his mother was a renowned Veena artiste. The musical legacy of his parents had a major impact on Balamurali and he developed an interest in music from a very young age.

Recognizing the potential of his son, Pattabhiramayya sent him to receive tutelage under 'Gayaka Sarvabhauma' Parupalli Ramakrishnayya Pantulu. Dr M Balamuralikrishna gave his first solo performance in the year 1938, when he was only eight years old. The performance was held at Vijayawada, on the occasion of Sadguru Arandhana Utsava. Even today, his melodious voice touches the heart of thousands of people. Dr M Balamuralikrishna is one of the few singers who have perfect control in all three octaves.

Contribution to the Field of Music

Doctor Mangalampalli Balamurali Krishna has contributed more than 400 compositions in the filed of Carnatic music. He is also credited with the conception of several new musical scales. Mahati, sumukham, trisakthi, sarvashri, omkari, janasamodini, manorama, rohini, vallabhi, lavangi, pratimadhyamavathi and sushama are some of the ragas created by him.

Honors and Achievements

Padma Vibhushan Award
Padmashree Award
Best Play Back Singer Award (1976)
Best Music Director Award (1987)
UNESCO Mahatma Gandhi Silver Medal

M S Subba Lakshmi-The Nitingale of India

M. S. Subbalakshmi, Madurai Shanmukhavadivu Subbulakshmi, was one of the most popular as well as most admired vocalists in the field of Carnatic music. This flawless singer whose voice had a divine power is the first singer in India to be presented with the Bharat Ratna, the highest award given to any civilian and also the first woman recipient of the title 'Sangeetha Kalanidhi'. If you want to get more information on M S Subbalakshmi and her life history, read the following biography.

M S Subbulakshmi was born on 16th September 1916, in the Madurai city of Tamil Nadu. Since she was born into a musical family, Subbulakshmi developed an interest in music from a very tender age only. Her first recording was released when she was only ten years old. M S Subbalakshmi received her formal training in Carnatic classical music from Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer and Hindustani classical music from Pandit Narayan Rao Vyas. She gave her first public performance at Kumbakonam, during the Mahamaham festival.

Subbulakshmi made her debut at the Madras Music Academy when she was only seventeen years old. Then onwards started her journey as one of the most successful singers of the country. She performed in numerous languages, including Hindi, Bengali, Gujarati, Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, Sanskrit and Kannada. M S Subbalakshmi also entered the field of acting and performed in a number of movies. People still remember her for the role of Bhakta Meera in the movie 'Meera'. However, after the movie, Subbulakshmi quit acting and concentrated fully on concert music.

M S Subbulakshmi married Sadasivam, a freedom fighter, in the year 1940. The couple did not have their own children. However, Subbulakshmi gave all her motherly love to Sadasivam's children from his previous marriage. Subbulakshmi became India's cultural ambassador and traveled to places like London, New York, Canada, the Far East, etc. Some of her most noteworthy concerts outside India took place at UN General Assembly (1966), Royal Albert Hall of London (1982) and 'Festival of India' in Moscow (1987).

Sadasivam left for the holy abode in 1997 and after his death, M S Subbulakshmi stopped giving public performances. The great singer suffered serious illness in the last days of her life. She passed away on 11th December 2004, after experiencing major complications connected with pneumonia and cardiac abnormalities.

Honors and Awards
Padma Bhushan Award (1954)
Sangeetha Kalanidhi Award (1968)
Ramon Magsaysay Award (1974)
Padma Vibhushan Award (1975)
Kalidasa Samman Award (1988)
Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration (1990)
Bharat Ratna Award (1998)
Honored as the court-singer of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams

Tyagaraja

Thyagaraja

From : 4th May, 1767* To : 6th January, 1847

Father : Sri Rama Brahmam

Mother : Sitamma

Place of birth : Thiruvayyaru

*According to another version he was born on 1759 AD

The fall of Vijayanagar Empire at the end of the 16th century saw many Hindu families migrating to Southern areas which were still peaceful under the benign rule of the Nayakas and the Maratha kings of Tamilnadu. A number of Telugu families went South and formed nuclei of art and culture and Tyagaraja's ancestors belonged to one such group, Kakarla family from Kakarla village in the Kurnool District of Andhra Pradesh.

Thyagaraja was born on 4th May 1767 in Tiruvarur. He was the third son of Sri Ramabrahmam and Sitamma, who were then living in a house on Tirumanjana Veethi in Tiruvayyaru. In one of his songs, Tyagaraja sings "Seetamma mayamma, Sri Ramudu ma tandri" - Seeta is my mother and Sri Rama my father - perhaps with a double meaning. He was named after the presiding deity of Tyagaraja Temple at Tiruvarur.

At the age of eighteen Thyagaraja married Parvati who died without leaving any children. He then married her sister, Kanakamba. A daughter, Seetalakshmi, was born to them, who was given in marriage to Kuppuswami. They begot a boy who was named Tyagaraja (Panchapakesa?) who died issueless, thus came an end the direct lineage of the composer.

No musician, with exception of Purandaradasa, revolutionized and gave direction to Indian music as Thyagaraja did. Because of this he is referred to as Thyagabrahmam.

Thyagaraja had his early education under his scholarly father and later under Sri Ramakrshnananda. Tyagaraja had come under the influence of Saint Narada about whom he acquired a wide knowledge from the palm leaf manuscripts preserved by his grandfather and later from a treatise called 'Svaranava'. His compositions: "Narada Guru Swami" in Darbar, "Sri Narada" in Kanada, and "Vara Narada" in VijayaSri extolling Narada are his tributes to the Saint.

With the influence of Ramayana, he became a devotee of Lord Sri Rama. Thyagaraja's compositions vive comparison with those of Ramadasa and Tulasidasa, especially the latter whose elequent depictions of Sri Rama on the Suvela mountain, Ehi Vidhikrpa Rupa Gunadhama Ram...(Lanka, Doha Ila, Ramacharita Manasa), finds echo in Tyagaraja's "Giripai Nelakonna" in Sahana and "Paritapamu" in Pratapa Varali.

To him music was so creative that he could not be bound in mere traditional grammar. He saw the potentiality in new melodies and from them gave forms to ragas like Kharaharapriya, Harikambhoji and Deyagandhari. He must have breathed life into such simple tunes to make them into ragas. His genius is evident in every song of his but his immortal Pancha ratna kritis - a set of five songs - each song is in different raga and tala reveal the mastery he had over musical technique.

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Thyagaraja's fame and the popularity of his songs brought him many disciples. Three branches of his Sishya parampara (line of disciples) need specific mention, namely: Umayalpuram, Tillaisthanam and Valajapet, headed by Sundara Bhagavatar and Krishna Bhagavatar, Rama Iyengar, and Valajapet Venkataramana Bhagavatar respectively, who imbibed all that was Thyagaraja and in turn propagated his kritis.

Invitations from his disciples and admirers took Thyagaraja on a pilgrimage to Tirupati, where he composed "Tera Tiyagarada" in Gaulipantu. He next moved to Chennai where he composed five songs on Lord Sundaresa. At Tiruvotiryur, he was drawn by Goddess Tripurasundari to sing five kritis. At Kancipuram he sang in praise of Lord Varadaraja and Goddess Kamakshi. At Nagapatnam he composed two pieces on Goddess Nilayatakshi. His visit to Srirangam is commemorated by five kritis. The next shrine he visited was Lalgudi, known then as Tapastirthapura, where he composed three pieces on Goddess Mahitapravrddha Srimati and two pieces on Saptarshisvara. Besides Kshetra pancaratna kirtanas, Thyagaraja also composed Utsava sampradaya and Divyanama kirtanas and Operas like Nauka charitra and Prahlada bhakti vijaya.

This complete surrender to God made him live a life of detachment, though he was a house holder with a family to care to. He refused to earn a livelihood. He had a house to live in and that was enough shelter. For food, every morning he would go round the village asking for alms - unchavritti, as it is called, and he would not gather even alms more than his dailythyga_home.JPG (12280 bytes) need. This was not to the liking of his elder brother, Japesa, who hoped that the great art and learning of his younger brother could be used to earn monetary benefits, which the Saint would not agree to. In desperation, the brother partitioned the ancestral house and threw the Rama idol which Thyagaraja worshipped into the river. The sorrow of the devotee cannot even be imagined and in shock Thyagaraja sang begging the Lord to come back to him. In a dream he was told where to find the idol and his life becomes full.

Honors and wealth could have been his, if only he had asked for them, but he would not. He spurned an invitation of the King and sang, "Is wealth (nidhi) the source of happiness or is the proximity (sannidhi) of Rama?"

Thyagaraja took sanyasa towards the end of his life. He says in one of the most moving songs, "Unerringly I saw Sri Rama installed on the hill...Thrilled with ecstasy, with tears of joy, I tried to speak. He promised to bless me in five days.

And so it happened. As promised, he attained eternal peace on Pusya Bahula Panchami in Prabhava (6th January, 1847).