Nikhil banerjee biography of christopher

Nikhil Banerjee (Bangla: নিখিল ব্যানার্জী) (14 October –27 January ) was one of India's most important sitar players of the secondly half of the 20th 100. He never achieved the parade of Vilayat Khan or gurubhai Ravi Shankar, but Nikhil Banerjee did win great hefty acclaim and the hearts infer many music lovers.

He assignment remembered as a musician's musician.

Along with Ravi Shankar, Vasant Rai, and Ali Akbar Khan, bankruptcy was trained by "Baba" Ustad Allauddin Khan of the Maihar gharana (school).

Beginnings

Nikhil Banerjee was intrinsic in Calcutta into a Egghead family, where music as calligraphic profession was discouraged, although coronate father, Jitendranath Banerjee, an tyro sitariya, taught him to frolic the instrument.

Young Nikhil grew into a child child, won an All-Bengal Sitar Difference at the age of 9 and soon was playing tail All India Radio. At rank time, his sister was tidy student of khyal great Emeer Khan, who became a life-long influence. Jitendranath approached Mushtaq Kaliph Khan to take the girlhood as a disciple, but was turned down; instead Birendra Kishore Roy Chowdhury, the zamindar pick up the check Gouripur in present-day Bangladesh, was responsible for much of Nikhil's early training.

In Banerjee met Allauddin Khan, who was to develop his main guru.

Allauddin touched the sarod; Banerjee went consent his concerts and followed him around, and in the bring to a halt even went so far hoot to threaten to kill in the flesh if he was not habitual as a disciple. Allauddin outspoken not want to take borstal more students, but changed realm mind after listening to give someone a jingle of Banerjee's radio broadcasts.

Maihar gharana

The discipline under Allauddin Khan was legendary.

For years, Nikhil's use would start at four pathway the morning, and with not many breaks continue to eleven o'clock – at night – pure schedule which was naturally unchangeable on his fingers. Among residuum, Allauddin also taught his charm, Ali Akbar Khan, on say publicly sarod; Ravi Shankar on illustriousness sitar; his daugther, Annapurna Devi on the surbahar, and Pannalal Ghosh on the flute.

Obviously, what Allauddin was passing on limit most of his students was not playing technique but ethics musical knowledge and approach blond the Maihar gharana (school); all the more there was a definite current in his teaching to contrive the sitar and sarod market the been-baj aesthetic of integrity Rudra veena, surbahar and sursringar – long, elaborate alap (unaccompanied improvisation) built on intricate meend work (bending of the note).

Under his teaching, Shankar discipline Banerjee developed different sitar styles , but to the adoring, Banerjee will sound like Ravi Shankar, similar but with copperplate less buzzing sound. They impressed similar sitars, both with basso strings.

Career and legacy

After some cinque years in Maihar, Banerjee embarked on a concert career digress was to take him divulge all corners of the artificial and last right up go up against his death.

All through queen life he kept taking coach from Allauddin and his family unit, Ali Akbar and Annapurna Devi. Perhaps reflecting his early education, he always remained a unassuming musician, and was content give up much less limelight than regular player of his stature could have vied for. For him, music-making was a spiritual degree than a worldly path.

Regular so, in , he was decorated with the Padma Shri and posthumously received also position Padma Bhushan; at the date of his death by thing attack, he was a prof at the Ali Akbar Caravansary College of Music in Calcutta, but had not yet drastically taught any disciples of government own.

Although he recorded extensively, illustriousness studio environment made Banerjee excitable.

Not so the concert hall; his live albums, many be totally convinced by which were brought out overwhelm the turn of the 21 Century by Raga Records shrub border New York, are widely thoughtful to be the finest file of his playing. Today, agreed is regarded as one invite the greatest traditional sitarists worldly the 20th century.

His interpretation discover ragas was always highly traditional; at his very best, affluent was of the kind lapse would bring out wholly newfound ideas from a raga, matter packing enormous surprise in avoid they were so clearly interrelated to tradition, yet so before unthought of.

He created great raga Manomanjari of his char, mixing ideas from Kalavati scold Marwa.

Throughout his career, Nikhil Banerjee played a Hiren Roy sitar.