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 [...]
Zakir Hussain (Noted tabla player ) was born on March 9, 1951. The son of the tabla maestro Ustad Alla Rakha, Ustad Zakir Hussain has given performances across the globe. After doing his schooling from St. Michael’s High School in Mahim, he went on to complete his graduation from St Xaviers, Mumbai before leaving for the United States in 1970, starting his international career. He has worked with many international bands like The Beatles, Shanti [...]
Vempati Chinna Satyam is a legendary dancer and guru of Kuchipudi dance form. This exquisite art form was popularized worldwide by him. He was born on 26th October , 1929, in a traditional family of dancers, at a small village of Kuchipudi in Andhra Pradesh. He started learning this dance form at the tender age of nine. Under the guidance of three great Gurus, Vempati Chinna Satyam mastered in Kuchipudi. Initially he learnt from Sri [...]
Ustad Amjad Ali Khan is one of the finest classical musicians in the country. Born in Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh in 1945, Amjad Ali Khan traces his lineage to the illustrious Bangash lineage rooted in the Senia Bangash School of music. He is a sixth-generation Sarod player in his family, which originally came to India from Afghanistan. His forefathers had brought the Rabab from Afghanistan which has transformed into the Sarod of today. He picked [...]
Sunil Dutt was a famous Bollywood actor, director and parliamentarian. He was born on June 6, 1930, as Balraj Dutt in the village of Khurd in present-day Pakistan. His family came over to India during the partition of the country in 1947. He did his undergraduate studies in Mumbai’s Jai Hind College and started his career as an announcer in the Hindi Service of Radio Ceylon. He shifted to Bollywood and his first Bollywood movie [...]
Sonal Mansingh is one of the leading exponents of Odissi and is a well known social activist, thinker researcher, orator, choreographer and teacher. Besides Odissi, she is also the master of Bharatnatyam. Born into an open minded family, Sonal took to dance professionally from 1962 onwards. She took training in Bharatnatyam under Prof. U.S. Krishna Rao and Chandrabhaga Devi. She learnt Odissi from various renowned gurus. This world known dancer is also a trained Hindustani [...]
Siddhendra Yogi was an exceptional scholar and artist of the 14th century AD. During the Bhakti Movement between 11th and the 13th century, the dance form of Kuchipudi saw a revolution. He adopted the existing format of the Yakshagna folk dance dramas and gave it a new form. This renowned scholar and artist took the initiative to give this dance form a more distinct form and elegance. Siddhendra Yogi incorporated the principles of dance of [...]
