Prof. Yashpaul

A noted exponent of the Agra gharana, Prof. Yashpaul received extensive training under Kasturi Lal Ji Jassra, Vilayat Hussain Khan, Yunus Hussain Khan, Latafat Hussain Khan, Sharafat Hussain Khan and Anwar Husain Khan. He performs in the style of his mentors with his own aesthetic insight, creative ability, melodic and rhythmic excellence forming an individual identity that make highly appreciative music. He is an eminent composer under the pseudonym “Sagunpiya”.

Amit Mukerjee

Amit Mukerjee represents the famous tradition of the Kirana gharana and Amir Khan’s individualistic school of Hindustani vocal music. He was trained under Shankar Majumdar, a senior disciple of Khan Sahib. A regular broadcaster on All India Radio and Doordarshan, he has participated in well-known classical music conferences in the country and abroad. At present he is the Executive Director of the ITC Sangeet Research Academy, Kolkata.

Arun Bhaduri

Arun Bhaduri has been one of the front-ranking vocalists from Kolkata for over two decades. Initially tutored by Md. A. Daud and Md. Sagiruddin Khan, he also received training as a musician scholar from Ishtiaq Hussain Khan of the Rampur-Sahaswan gharana at the ITC Sangeet Research Academy. He got further talim from Jnan Prakash Ghosh, who taught him both classical and light classical music. He has also been greatly influenced by Ameer Khan. He is a Guru at the ITC Sangeet Research Academy.

Arvind Parikh

A senior disciple of the legendary maestro Vilayat Khan, Arvind Parikh is one of India’s leading sitarists with a performance career spanning over five decades. An incisive musicologist and an eminent cultural ambassador, he has won the critical acclaim of connoisseurs all over the world. The Gujrat State Sangeet Natak Akademi has awarded him the Gaurav Purashkar for his contribution to music.

Ashok D Ranade

A musicologist and a musician of equal capacity, Ashok D Ranade has a considerably huge and varied background of training. He has learnt from Gajananrao Joshi of the Gwalior and Jaipur gharanas, Pralhad Ganu of Agra and Laxmanrao Joshi of Gwalior. He has a vast field of activity – as a composer, lecturer and author besides being a performer. He has also held prestigious positions in various institutions in India.

Balasaheb Poochwale

Balasaheb Poochwale, an outstanding exponent of the Gwalior gharana received training in vocal music from his father Rajabhaiya Poochwale. He was also trained by V N Bhatkhande and S N Ratanjhankar. He has been the Principal of Madhav Music College, Gwalior and has trained a number of distinguished vocalists. Several archives of music in India and abroad have recorded his large repertoires of compositions. He has been a recipient of Shikhar Samman from the Govt. of Madhya Pradesh and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award.

Buddhadev Das Gupta

Buddhadev Das Gupta, the foremost disciple of Radhika Mohan Maitra is the senior most exponent of one of the most authentic sarode gharanas. A veteran performer at all the major festivals for over five decades, he has done considerable research work on sarode and music in general and is known for his lucid articles and lectures. He has been honoured with many awards including Sangeet Natak Academy Award and ITC Award. At present, he is a Guru at the ITC Sangeet Research Academy.

Budhaditya Mukherjee

Budhaditya Mukherjee is one of the foremost sitarists of his generation and has received his entire talim from his illustrious father, Bimalendu Mukherjee, the well-known sitarist and musicologist of the Imdadkhani gharana. Having specialized in the disciplined development of the ragas based on the gayaki style, he has enthralled his audiences throughout the world. He is a visiting expert in Sitar at the Conservatory of Music at Rotterdam and has innumerable cassettes and CDs to his credit.

Dinkar Kaikini

Amongst the most learned exponents of khayal today, Dinkar Kaikini hails from Mumbai and represents the assimilated musical learning of the Gwalior and Agra gharanas. He has trained under stalwarts like Omkarnath Thakur, S N Ratanjankar and S C R Bhatt. He has performed widely over a career spanning several decades and has served on various committees and examination boards. He has been a successful teacher, a well-known composer and has produced a number of audiocassettes and publications. He has been honoured with the prestigious Sangeet Natak Akademi Award.

Dipali Nag

Born in Agra, Dipali Nag was trained under Basheer Khan and Tassaduq Hussain Khan and later from Faiyaz Khan of the Agra Gharana. A distinguished torchbearer of the Agra gayaki, she has a number of publications to her credit and has been a critic in various newspapers. She has studied Western music at the Trinity College, London and has lectured widely abroad. She is the proud recipient of several awards including Allauddin Puraskar, Bangiya Parishad Award, C V Raman Award etc. Currently she is the advisor to the Scientific Research Department at the ITC Sangeet Research Academy.

Falguni Mitra

Falguni Mitra of Kolkata, is a well-known exponent of dhrupad and dhamar. He belongs to the Betia gharana and was trained by his father, Shib Mitra, a worthy disciple of Bholanath Pathak. His lecture-demonstrations and articles in various journals in India and abroad have been highly acclaimed. He is currently at ITC Sangeet Research Academy as Guru and Prefect.

Iqbal Ahmad Khan

Iqbal Ahmad Khan received talim in vocal music from Chand Khan, Hilal Ahmad Khan, Naseer Ahmad Khan, Zaffar Ahmad Khan and Zahoor Ahmad Khan of the Delhi gharana. He has established himself as one of the foremost khayal singers and has performed in almost all the major concert platforms of the globe. He has researched intensively on the life and compositions of Hazrat Amir Khusrau and is a reputed composer. He has a number of publications and recordings to his credit.

Jaya Biswas

A distinguished musician and an ardent student of the living legend, Ravi Shankar, Jaya Biswas has been a revered name in the world of Hindustani music over the past few decades. Having represented India in various concerts all over the globe, she currently heads the Faculty of Indian Music at the Calcutta School of Music and is a valued member of many prestigious organizations of Kolkata.

Kala Ramnath

Kala Ramnath began her talim at the tender age of three under the strict tutelage of her father Narayan Iyer. Simultaneously she received training from Dr N Rajam. Now she is under the tutelage of Jasraj to enhance the gayaki elements in her style. She has performed at all the major festivals in India and abroad and is a proud recipient of many a prestigious award. She also has a number of cassettes and CDs to her credit.

Kumar Prasad Mukherjee

Kumar Prasad Mukherjee is considered as an erudite musicologist from Kolkata. Initially trained by Rabindra Lall Roy, he later received talim from Mushtaq Hussain Khan of the Rampur-Sahaswan gharana, Ata Hussain Khan and Latafat Hussain Khan of the Agra gharana. Besides regular performances all over the country, he has given lecture-demonstrations at several institutes and universities. He has authored many books on music and currently is a member of the expert committee at ITC Sangeet Research Academy.

M R Gautam

A distinctive personality in the arena of Indian classical music, M R Gautam learnt Carnatic music early in his life. Later he chose to specialize on Hindustani vocal music and was tutored by several stalwarts like the Dagar Brothers, Siddheshwari Devi, Begum Akhtar, Bholanath, Dilip Chandra Vedi and Anwar Hussain Khan. He has also studied under Dr Jean Klein of Paris and Thakur Jaidev Singh. He has two doctorates to his credit and has held the post of a vice chancellor. He is the recipient of the Fellowship of the Royal Asiatic Society of London. Besides important performances, he has a remarkable record of publications and seminar participation and has been duly awarded by many organisations.

Manilal Nag

Manilal Nag hails from a well-known family of musicians of the Vishnupur gharana and has been rigorously trained by his father, Gokul Chandra Nag. A veteran performer on the concert scene he is the proud recipient of the prestigious ITC SRA award and Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for his contribution to Hindustani instrumental music.

Mashkoor Ali Khan

Mashkoor Ali Khan was initiated and trained by his father, the great sarangi-nawaz, Shakoor Khan and secured a place in the music world early in life. After his father’s death, he joined the ITC Sangeet Research Academy as a scholar, to further develop the authentic Kirana gayaki that he represents. He has inherited a veritable treasure of bandishes and rare ragas. Besides performing regularly at numerous festivals of classical music in India and abroad, he is attached to the academy as Guru of the Kirana gharana.

Purnima Chaudhuri

Purnima Chaudhuri was initiated into music by A Kanan and was later rigorously trained by Mahadev Prasad Mishra and Girija Devi. She has carved a niche for herself as a distinguished exponent of thumri, dadra, tappa etc of the rich Purab ang. Having received the prestigious Senior Fellowship from the Ministry of Human Resources Development, Government of India, she has participated at all the major festivals of the globe and has several recordings to her credit.

Rahim Fahimuddin Dagar

Born in Alwar, Rajasthan, in a family of musicians, Rahim Fahimuddin Dagar was trained in dhrupad by Nasiruddin Dagar, Rahimuddin Dagar, Imamuddin Dagar and Hussainuddin Dagar. He also trained in Rudra veena under Ziauddin Khan Dagar. Over a long concert career, he has distinguished himself by the quality of his elaboration of ragas, his mastery over rhythm and a rich repertoire of traditional bandishes. Having performed widely in India and abroad he has been honoured with the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award.

Ramashray Jha

Ramashray Jha hails from Darbhanga, Bihar and received his initial training from his father Sukhdev Jha and uncle Madhusudan Jha. Later he received talim in dhrupad, khayal and thumri from Bholanath Bhatt. He is a well-known composer and a distinguished teacher as well. Presently a resident of Allahabad, he is a Fellow of the Uttar Pradesh Sangeet Natak Akademi. He is credited for composing new ragas and publishing a compilation of his compositions. He contributes regularly to prestigious newspapers and journals.

Santosh Banerjee

Santosh Banerjee, the well-known sitarist of Kolkata took his initial training from Aparesh Chatterjee, following which he was under the tutelage of Dabir Khan of the Senia gharana. He was the Head of the Department of Instrumental Music, Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata and has taken part at seminars in prestigious universities of the country. A master player of the sitar and surbahar, he has participated in many prestigious music festivals all over India.



Shrikrishna Haldankar

Shrikrishna Haldankar received his training in music under Mogubai Kurdikar of the Jaipur gharana and subsequently under Khadim Hussain Khan of the Agra gharana. He is known for his judicious blend of both the gayakis as well as his mastery over dhamar and thumri. Apart from a successful career on the concert platforms, he has distinguished himself as a teacher and as a Visiting Professor to a number of universities and institutes.

Shruti Sadolikar Katkar

Born and brought up in the musical tradition of the Jaipur gharana, Shruti Sadolikar has been groomed by her illustrious father and guru Wamanrao Sadolikar. She has also studied under Gulubhai Jasdanwala. A recipient of the prestigious Bhaskar Bua Bakhle prize, she has also received Kesarbai Kerkar Scholarship. A matured and highly regarded musician, she is a regular feature in all the major music festivals in India and abroad.



Ulhas Kashalkar

Ulhas Kashalkar is one of the foremost vocalists in his generation today. He received training in vocal music from his father N D Kashalkar and later learnt from Ram Marathe and Gajananbua Joshi. He is well known for his unique blend of the Gwalior and Jaipur gayakis and a large repertoire of ragas and compositions. A widely travelled artiste, he is presently attached to the ITC Sangeet Reasearch Academy as Guru.