Birth name Born

Bhimsen Gururaj Joshi February 4, 1922 Gadag, Karnataka January 24, 2011 (aged 88) Pune, Maharashtra Hindustani classical music singer 19412011

Died

PANDIT BHIMSEN JOSHI born into of Ron which was in Gadag District in northern Karnataka state of India. His father, Gururaj was a school teacher.

Genres Occupations Years active

was then

Joshi,

Bhimsen was the eldest in a family of 16 siblings. Some of the siblings still live in their ancestral home in Gadag. Bhimsen lost his mother when he was young, and his step mother then raised him. His parents lived initially with his grandfather as tenants of a Kulkarni household, but then moved to Gadag District.As a child, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi's craving for music was evident to his family as he managed to lay his hands on a 'tanpura' used by his 'Kirtankar' grandfather, which had been kept away from his gaze at home. Music had such a magnetic pull over him that a 'bhajan singing' procession or just 'azaan' from a nearby mosque was said to draw him out of house.

Born: March 9, 1951 Achievement: Considered as the chief architect of the contemporary world music movement; youngest percussionist to ever be awarded the title of Padma Shri .Zakir Hussain is a classical tabla virtuoso and the most famous tabla player in India today. His contribution in the field of percussion and in the music world at large is highly appreciated. Ustad Zakir Hussain was born on March 9, 1951. His father Ustad Allarakha was himself an established tabla player. Zakir Hussain did his schooling from St. Michael's High School in Mahim and completed his graduation from St Xaviers, Mumbai. Zakir Hussain was a child prodigy and started touring by the age of twelve. He came to the United States in 1970 and started his international career. Zakir Hussain is widely considered as the chief architect of the contemporary world music movement. He founded much historic collaboration. These include: Shakti, which he founded with John McLaughlin and L. Shankar, the Diga Rhythm Band, Making Music, Planet Drum with Mickey Hart, and recordings and performances with a number of artists such as George Harrison, Joe Henderson, Van Morrison, Jack Bruce, Tito Puente, Pharoah Sanders, Billy Cobham, the Hong Kong Symphony and the New Orleans Symphony.

Born: April 7, 1920 Achievement: Made a major contribution in popularizing Indian classical music in the West; Recipient of Padma Vibhushan, Magsaysay Award, AND two Grammy Awards. Ravi Shankar is a legendary sitar player and one of India's most esteemed classical musicians. Pandit Ravi Shankar has made a major contribution in popularizing Indian classical music in the West through his association with The Beatles (especially George Harrison). Pandit Ravi Shankar was born on April 7, 1920 at Varanasi, India. His elder brother Uday Shankar was a famous Indian classical dancer. In his early years Ravi Shankar joined his elder brother, Uday Shankar and his troupe and went to Paris in 1930 to experiment with the stage by playing small roles in ballets for the next three years. In 1938, Ravi Shankar gave up a possible dance career and started learning sitar under Allauddin Khan, founder of the Maihar Gharana of Indian classical music. Ravi Shankar's formal training ended in 1944. Thereafter, Pandit Ravi Shankar joined the IPTA and composed music for several ballets, started Renaissance artistes in 1947 and was in charge of Vadya Vrinda at the All India Radio in 1949. Ravi Shankar first performed outside India in the Soviet Union in 1954. He also performed at major events such as the Edinburgh Festival as well as major venues such as Royal Festival Hall. In 1960s, Ravi Shankar's fusion with George Harrison, a member of The Beatles became very popular in the US and helped in popularizing Indian classical music in the West.

Born - 27 June 1939 Died - 4 January 1994 Achievements - R.D. Burman is considered the greatest of all music composers the Indian film industry's ever had. His musical brilliance is evident from the fact that the famous song 'Sar jo tera chakraaye' in Guru Dutt's film, Pyaasa was composed by him as a child. He has belted out some of the jazziest hits in the history of Bollywood music. Rahul Dev Burman, who is more famous by the name of R.D. Burman, is considered the greatest of all music composers the Indian film industry's ever had. His entry into Bollywood saw the revolutionization of the way music was being composed here. Son of singer and music composer, Sachin Dev Burman and second husband of playback singer, Asha Bhosle, RD Burman is credited for injecting a fresh style and technique into the singing of yesteryears Hindi songs. Burman's melodious songs lack parallel even today. The biography of RD Burman continues here. Rahul Dev Burman was lovingly called Pancham da by industry insiders and friends because during his childhood, whenever he cried, it sounded in the fifth note 'Pa' of the Indian musical scale. Little Pancham was born at Kolkata in West Bengal state. He started taking sarod lessons from Ustad Ali Akbar Khan after shifting to Mumbai. RD Burman composed his first song 'Aye meri topi palat ke aa' at the age of nine, which his father used in the film 'Funtoosh' released in the year 1956.

Born: 1945 Achievement: Noted sarod player; Recipient of Padmashree and Padma Bhushan. Ustad Amjad Ali Khan is a noted sarod player and one of the foremost classical musicians. Ustad Amjad Ali Khan was born at Gwalior Madhya Pradesh in 1945. He belongs to the illustrious Bangash lineage rooted in the Senia Bangash School of music and is the sixth generation sarod player in his family. Amjad Ali Khan learnt Sarod under his father Haafiz Ali Khan's tutelage, who was a musician to the royal family of Gwalior. Amjad Ali Khan gave his first solo recital at the age of 12 in 1958. He has developed a unique style of playing the sarod. The key innovations in his style are compositions based on vocal music, the technical ability to play highly complex phrases (ekhara taans) on the sarod spanning three octaves and the emphasis on simple and elegant compositions. Ustad Amjad Ali Khan has simplified the instrument by removing some strings (his sarod has only two jod and chikari strings and 11 tarab stings) and has also removed the resonant gourd (tumba) which is in use by other sarod schools. In 1977, Amjad Ali Khan founded the Ustad Hafiz Ali Khan Memorial Society which organises concerts and bestows an annual Hafiz Ali Khan award on outstanding classical musicians in India and aboard.