Jamini Roy was born in 1887 in Bankura in West Bengal. In 1903, Jamini Roy came to Kolkata and took admission in the Government School of Art. He was a student of Abanindranath Tagore. Roy painted a couple of beautiful portraits and landscapes that shows his unquestionable artistic qualities. In his early days Jamini Roy went through extreme poverty and was forced to take odd jobs. His Kalighat paintings was sold outside the Kalighat Temple. [...]
Shyam Benegal, a director who has carved a niche for himself in Indian cinema, was born on 14 December 1934 in Alwal, Hyderabad. Initially, he started off in the advertising industry before moving on to movies. He made his directorial debut with Gher Betha Ganga in 1962, though he became famous for his film Ankur in 1973. He is known for his quartet of movies Ankur (1973), Nishant (1975), Manthan (1976) and Bhumika (1977), which [...]
‘Dance for the Lord’ is Odissi’s tradition. Sanjukta Panigrahi, the legendary Odissi dancer maintained this custom all through her life. The dedicated dancer played a pivotal role in reviving the Odissi dance form in India and popularizing it in abroad. She was given the title Padmashri by the Government of India in recognition of her priceless contribution to Indian dance. She was also awarded the Sangeet Kala Academy Award. Sanjukta Panigrahi was born on 24.08.44 [...]
Raja and Radha Reddy, the world famous dancing couple, excel in the art of Kuchipudi, They have taken this dance to a new height by adhering to the traditional style and technique of Kuchipudi dance. They are named among the major dancers of India for their excellence and perfection in this dance form. Both of them were born the state of Andhra Pradesh, Raja Reddy was born in 1944 in Narsapur and Radha Reddy in [...]
Pandit Ravi Shankar India’s most famous sitar maestro was born on April 7, 1920 into a Bengali Brahmin family of West Bengal. Son of an eminent barrister, he moved to Paris at the age of 10. His elder brother Uday Shankar was a renowned dancer of that time. Ravi Shankar started playing the sitar for his brother’s troupe. In 1938 he started his formal training in sitar under his guru Allauddin Khan. After his training [...]
Pt. Birju Maharaj Probably the greatest exponent of Kathak, Pt Birju Maharaj was born on 4th February 1938. He belongs to the Kalka-Bindadin Lucknow Gharana of Kathak. Named Brij Mohan, he is the son of legendary Achchan Maharaj of Maharaj family of Kathak dancers. Brij Mohan was into dancing from the initial years of life. Trained by his uncles Shambhu Maharaj and Lachchu Maharaj he gave his first performance at the age of seven. After [...]
Prince Rama Verma is a Carnatic singer, veena artist and a mentor of the Rotterdam Conservatory of Music. He was born to Pooyam Thirunal Parvati Bayi and Chembrol Raja Raja Varma, on 13th of August 1968. He was born in the Royal family of Travancore, which has been closely associated with music and art. Prince RamaVarma is the descendant of Maharaja Swati Thirunal, the outstanding composer and Raja Ravi Varma, the pioneering artist. He is [...]
Internationally renowned flutist Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia is the most well-known flutist in the country today. Born in Allahabad on July 1, 1938, Chaurasia had a dfficult childhood as his mother passed away when he was just four. His father was a wrestler who wanted Haipprasad to become a wrestler too. Hariprasad was fascinated by music and started learning it in secret, though he underwent training on the wrestling arena too to please his father. He [...]
Pandit Ganapathi Bhatt is a leading Hindustani Classical singer. He lives and works in a small village Hasanagi in Karnataka. From a very tender age he was passionate about Hindustani Classical music. He learnt this art from two great masters namely the Late Basavaraja Rajaguru and Pandit C.R.Vyas. He is a part of the musical tradition of such great connoisseurs such as Sawai Gandharva, Basavaraj Rajguru and Panchakshari Gawai. Mostly, the upcoming musicians move from [...]
Muthuswami Dikshitar, distinguished classical singer was one of the three Trinities of Carnatic Music in South India. He was born on March 24, 1774 to a musician family in Tamil Nadu. He started training under his father Ramaswami Dikshitar, who was an eminent scholar and creator of Hamsadhwani, the famous raga in Indian Music. His father taught him ancient shastras, music and different Indian languages. Muthuswami Dikshitar was the most dedicated saint of the Bhakti [...]
