Jnan Prakash Ghosh

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  • Years Active: 1990s

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Biography Wikipedia

Wikipedia:

Pandit Jnan Prakash Ghosh (1909 – February 18, 1997) was an Indian tabla player and musicologist.

Early life

Born in a Hindu family with musical background in Kolkata, India he was the grandson of Dwarik Ghosh, inventor of the Dwarkin harmonium, popular in West Bengal, India. He graduated from the Scottish Church College of the University of Calcutta He was keen in sports (he played soccer, hockey, polo and billiards). He also practised painting, but had to discontinue these due to an eye injury in a soccer match. Then he turned to music. He was trained in vocals by Girija Shankar, Mohammed Sagir Khan and Mohammed Dabir Khan. He took tabla lessons from Ustad Masit Khan of the Farukkabad Gharana and Ustad Feroze Khan of the Punjab Gharana.

Career

He worked for 15 years in All India Radio as a producer of music. He wrote pieces in classical music, light music, modern, orchestral, choral, and percussion styles. He took part in valuable discussions, talks and interviews in Hindi, Bengali and English. He also began the “Ramayangeeti” a fusion of traditional and modern Indian music.

Pandit Ghosh was the founder of Sourav Academy of Music and closely associated with the 'Sangeet Research Academy'. He scored music for many Bengali films, Jadubhatta and Rajlakshmi o Srikanta are worth mentioning. He has composed and directed music to a number of popular gramophone records sung by various artistes. A percussion entitled The Drums of India and a jugalbandi with Pandit V.G. Jog on the harmonium and violin respectively have earned him wide popularity. One of his outstanding compositions was called Chaturang - involving tabla, pakhawaj, kathak and tarana. He would instruct disciples staying with him to practice late into the evenings and it is said that he would correct any errors that reached his ears.

He also provided music for the Academy Award nominated animated short Bead Game, directed by Ishu Patel for the National Film Board of Canada.

Awards and recognition

Padma Bhushan in 1984