Gurujis or Teachers

Music can only be achieved through Guruji and only through his blessings. Only through his constant guidance, a shishya or a disciple can achieve great musical talent, wisdom and knowledge. Guru has ability to instil and shape the future of his disciple.

Pujya Pramukh Swami Maharaj

He was my inspiration, guide and a true Guru. Only with HIS blessings, I was able to start my musical journey at the age of 15. His true guidance and support ignite my passions for music. Only through HIS blessings in Baroda (Gujarat), I was able to get training from the India's top most musicians in classical vocal, tabla, and sitar.

Pandit Askaran Sharma - Vocal, Mumbai

Vocal guruji Dr. Pandit Askaran Sharma (Mumbai) was the recipient of many prestigious awards, such as Sangeet Natya Academy, Swar Vilas, Sangeet Manishi, Sangeet Kalanidhi, Sangeet Ratna (London), etc. An intellectual academic Indian classical vocalist, fine composer, exemplary Guru, and compassionate human being who touched many lives.
Panditji was the son-in-law of Pandit Maniramji (the elder brother of Pt. Jasraj). His wife, Smt. Yogai Sharma, is also a great singer and dedicated housewife. Panditji has worked as a station director of All India Radio in Mumbai, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, and Raipur, where he flourished Indian music amongst aspiring talented music lovers.

Pandit has visited London every year since 2001 and has given many performances, workshops, and music talks. He used to stay at my house and personally train me like his son. My learning with him spanned from 1977 to 2016. He was a master in the art of Indian music teaching, guiding me through the intricacies of ragas, talas, and compositions. His patience and dedication towards imparting knowledge left a lasting impact on my musical journey. I am grateful for the years spent under his tutelage, as they have shaped me into the musician I am today.

Pandit Shrikant Bakre - Vocal, Kolkatta

Shrikant Bakre was born in Nagpur on August 26, 1930. Pandit Manoher Barve of Nagpur gave him initial music lessons. At the age of 16, he shifted to Calcutta. He was influenced by the gayaki of Ustad Amir Khan Saheb. He became his disciple and was taught by him regularly. According to the researchers of Indore Gharana,

Pandit Shrikant Bakre Ji's name comes in second place after Pandit Amarnath Ji in the list of Ustad Amir Khan Saheb disciples. The influence of Ustad Amir Khan can be seen clearly in his singing. He performed numerous times on different stages all across the world. He gave his performance at the Ustad Amir Khan Memorial Function held in Indore in 1988 and 1989. He had represented India at the World Peace Festival held in the USA, where he performed consecutively for 18 programs, and during that time only, he was offered honorary citizenship by the US government.

Panditji was a great teacher; his singing style of khyaal gaayan was very unique. Pandit Bakreji taught me how to improvise raags in vilambit with aalap, sargam, taan without repetition of phrases, etc. He was a very saintly, humble, courteous, and modest person.

Pandit Pratapnarayan - Vocal, Mumbai

Pandit Pratapnarayanji was an Indian classical vocalist and tabla player (1918–2002) of the Mewati gharana. He was introduced to music by his father, Motiram. Among his well-known disciples is his younger brother, Pandit Jasraj. His elder brother was the classical vocalist Pandit Maniram Ji. Later, Vidushi Kankana Banerjee, a disciple of Ustan Amir Khan Saheb, became Panditji's disciple, and both have given many concerts in India, the UK, the UAE, etc.
Pandit Pratap Narayan's sons Jatin Pandit and Lalit Pandit became the well-known composer duo Jatin Lalit; his daughters Sulakshana Pandit and Vijaya Pandit were both Bollywood singers and actresses. Panditji's outstanding qualities were badhat in vilambit khyaal and effortless taans. He was a very humble, pious, and knowledgeable person. I was very fortunate to have learned from him for many years.

Pandit Krishnakant Parikh - Vocal, Ahmedabad

Pandit Krishnakant Parikh was a versatile classical vocalist, gifted with a mesmerising and unique voice quality ranging up to three octaves. He became a disciple of Pt. Jasraj of Mewati Gharana and dedicated his entire life in music. In his singing, one can feel the essence of Mewati gharana. He trained many musicians in Ahmedabad and throughout Gujarat.

His sons Niraj Parikh, Vikas Parikh and Matang Parikh and daughters in law are all very good singers and have kept classical music tradition alive. Besides, classical music they have been doing concerts of sugam sangeet, ghazals etc. Pt. Krishnakantbhai taught me for few years in Ahmedabad and ignite my passions of classical singing. Inspired me to undertake music examinations of ABGMVM.

Pandit Suresh Gaitonde (Bhaiji) - Tabla, Mumbai

Suresh "Bhai" Gaitonde (6 May 1932 – 27 June 2019) was an Indian tabla player. He is best known for being a major disciple of Ahmed Jan Thirakwa and a leading representative of the Farukhabad tradition. [1][2] He was the leading exponent of Thirakwa Shailey (baaj).

He was honoured by more than 40 prestigious awards, including the Sangeet Natak Academy Award.He learned the intricacies of tabla under nine different gurus during his entire lifetime. From 1952 to 1968, Panditji studied tabla with Jagannathbuwa Purohit, a noted vocalist of the Agra gharana. Following Purohit's death, he became a ganda-bandh disciple of Ahmed Jan Thirakwa, studying with the maestro for three years. After Thirakwa's death, he continued learning from Vinayakrao Ghangrekar and his gurubhai, Pt. Lalji Gokhale, until the latter's death in 2002. Noteworthy is the fact that Bhaiji was 60+ when he was learning with Pt. Lalji Gokhale. He truly believed in learning as a lifelong process and practiced it.

Pt. Gaitonde taught selflessly and passionately without charging any money. His students are spread over India as well as other countries, including the US, UK, Germany, etc. Some of his disciples include Ganda Bandh, Mahesh Kanole, Ajit Pendse, and Raghvendra Kulkarni. Prominent disciples: Pt. Sudhir Sansare, Sunil Jayphalkar, Rashmin Bhagwat, Shubhada Kurve, Jatinkumar Oza, and many more.

I used to visit him every year in Thane (Mumbai) from 1986 to 2015. He was a true Guruji, who also stayed at my home in London for a month in 2005 and used to teach me for 4-5 hours a day.

Pandit Suresh Talwalkar - Tabla, Mumbai

Taalyogi Pandit Suresh Talwalkar is a professional tabla player based in Pune. He is one of the greatest Tabla exponents of today. He is an accomplished artist and a guru, he has contributed immensely to the glourious tradition of Indian classical music.

He was initially trained by his father, Shri Dattatray Talwarkar, and later he learned from gurus like Pt. Vinayak Ghangrekar and Pt. Padharinath Nageshkar. He also learned the intricacies of Carnatic Layashaastra, or the science of rhythm, from Pt. Ramnad Ishwaran. This diverse training enabled him to imbibe both North and South Indian music, transforming him into a solo performer with individual expressions.

He was honoured by the President of India, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam with the prestigious Sangeet Natak Academy Award. He is a recipient of the All India Radio Awards and the Padmashree Award. He has travelled extensively to European and Asian countries like Thailand, Singapore, Austria, Germany, the UK, the USA, Canada, France, Holland, Sweden and many more. His wife Vidushi Padma Talwarkar is also a very famous Indian vocal artist. His son Satyajit Talwarkar is the youngest tabla performer in India. His daughter Savani Talwarkar is also a very upcoming talented female tabla player.

I used to visit Guruji's house every week at his place in Goregaon, Mumbai where made me practice simple kaaydaas with purity of sound, chalan and intricate rhythmic paltaas etc. Panditji currently resides in Pune for nearly more than twenty five years.

Pandit Shankar Ghosh - Tabla, Calcutta

Pandit Shankar Ghosh was an Indian Tabla player from the Farukhabad gharana of Hindustani classical music. He has revolutionized both the art of Tabla solo playing as well as Tabla accompaniment. His many compositions have become an intrinsic part of the contemporary Tabla repertoire. Pt. Shankar Ghosh had accompanied on tabla with all the legendary musicians like Pt Ravi Shankar, Us. Vilayat Khan, Us. Ali Akbar Khan etc. He was a regular at the Tansen Festival, the Sadarang Festival. He had taught at the Ali Akbar College of Music in California in early 60's and later in 1968 and 1972.

Many of his disciples are settled down in UK, USA and other places where he regularly used to visit to impart his knowledge and art of Tabla playing. My training with Panditji in Kolkata was a great time,

He taught me many kaayadas and compositions of Farukhabad. 'He used to say ''यदि आप समर्पित हैं और नियमित रूप से अभ्यास करना चाहते हैं तो तबला सीखने के लिए मेरे पास आएं
His teaching style was very unique and outstanding.

Pandit Nikhil Ghosh - Tabla, Mumbai

Pandit NIkhil Ghosh was an Indian musician, teacher and writer, known for his proficiency in the percussion instrument of tabla. He was a brother of Pt. Pannalal Ghosh (a renowned flautist)

He founded Sangit Mahabharati, an institution of music in 1956, and performed on various stages in India and abroad. A recipient of the Ustad Hafiz Ali Khan Award, his style was known to have been aligned with the Delhi, Ajrada, Farukhabad, Lucknow and Punjab gharanas of music. The Government of India awarded him the third highest civilian honour of the Padma Bhushan, in 1990, for his contributions to Music.He trained in vocals and tabla under several noted musicians such as Ahmed Jan Thirakwa, Amir Hussain Khan and Jnan Prakash Ghosh. He had accompanied in tabla with all great musicians including Us. Allauddin Khan Saheb, Amir Khan, Ravi Shankar, Vilayat Khan, Jasraj, Bhimsem Joshi, Nikhil Banerjee, Shivkumar and many others.

I was very fortunate to have learnt from him on one to one basis at His Sangeet Mahabharti, Mumbai for few years. His sons Nayan Ghosh, Dhruba Ghosh and daughter Tulika Ghosh have kept the tradition of Indian music alive.

Pandit Kashinath Mishra - Tabla, Mumbai

Pandit Kashinath Mishra was a disciple of Pandit Anokhilal Mishra of Banaras gharana. Pt. Kashinathji has performed with all the big stalwarts of India, like Pt, Ramnarayan, Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia, Pt. Shivkumar Sharma, Dhruba Ghosh, etc. He regularly performed on Doordarshan with many known artists. His humble and friendly nature was admired by even laypeople and non-professional artists.

He used to teach many saints at the BAPS temple in Dadar, Mumbai. Swami Yogicharandas, Swami Bhaktinandandas, Swami Akshareshdas, and Swami Ghanshyamjivandas were a few of his outstanding students.

Unfortunately, none of his sons carried his tabla tradition forward.

Pandit Nitai Chakraborty - Tabla, Ahmedabad

Pandit Indranil Bhattacharya - Sitar, Calcutta

Pt. Indranil Bhattacharya (April 1942–September 2001) has been a legend in his own life. Born in Calcutta, Indranil had a rich legacy behind him. Son of the legendary Timir Baran, the father of the Indian orchestra, Indranil hails from a family of scholars, priests, and musicians. Great men of religion like Ramkrishna Parahamsa Dev, Swami Vivekananda, and Bama Khepa were regular visitors to their houses for religious discourses.

He received rigorous training under the watchful eyes of the great Guru Baba Allauddin Khan Sahib for ten years. Since 1966, Panditji's musical career has received acclaim and accolades even from the farthest corners of the globe. Being the worthy torchbearer of the Senia Maihar Gharana,

Indranil joined the Ali Akbar College of Music, California, at the invitation of the great Ustad Ali Akbar Khan. Indranil soon won hearts wherever he went with the finesse of his performing skills and the flair of his music. It is in the soil of Santiniketan—at the aashram of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore—that Indranil finally discovered the peace of his mind and the happiness of his soul. In Santiniketan, we find him combining in himself the role of an ardent Guru, an able administrator, with that of a brilliant musician, with elan.

Panditji taught me at his residence in Calcutta in 1984 with the Guru Shishya Parampara tradition.

Pandit Ganesh Mohan - Sitar, Mumbai

Pandit Ganesh Mohan was born into a cultural Bengali family of art lovers. His father tutored him initially into learning Sitar, and such was the talent of the young boy that he stood first in an All India Music Competition held in Kolkata in 1969, at the age of 10! Having completed his higher secondary schooling, Panditji joined the Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata, as a student of Hindustani classical music and completed his education with a first class master's degree. It was after completing his academic education that Ganesh Mohan started regular training from Maestros as Pt. Manilal Nag and Prof. Ajay Sinha Ray.

He is a great fan of the late Pt. Nikhil Banerjee and has been following his style. With a keen desire to have intense training in the Vilayatkhani Baj for some years, Ganeshji became a disciple of Pt. Arvind Parikh.

He thus presents a very fine synthesis of two well-known Gharanas. Pandit Ganesh Mohan is an A grade artist for AIR and Doordarshan.

He has performed at many musical conferences in India, Europe, and London (UK). He has conducted many workshops in London and has performed for the BOPIO Indian International Festival in London.

He has used to stay at my place in London and would teach me various techniques of both Nikhil banerjee and Vilayat Khan saheb. He has also remained an examiner for ABGMVM. I had the great opportunity to learn from him continuously until now.

Shree Sukhrajsinh Jhala - Sitar, Ahmedabad

Shree Sukhraj Sinh Jhala was a well known sitar player of Ahmedabad, Gujarat. He was fondly known as Jhala Saheb. He was a disciple of Late Pt. Nikhil Banerjee, He had his initial training in vocal music under Shree Ravji bhai, and he always stood by him in all the activities of the institute. He taught sitar for nearly 55 years in Gandharva Mahavidyalaya and strengthened the instrumental section of the institute. Recipient of ‘Gaurav Puraskar’, he did a pioneering work in the field of Sitar vaadan in Ahmedabad. He also organized concerts of music for many years under the banner of ‘SurSingar’

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