Chandan Dass (born 12 March 1956) is a popular Indian

ghazal ''Ghazal'' is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry that often deals with topics of spiritual and romantic love. It may be understood as a poetic expression of both the pain of loss, or separation from the beloved, and t ...

singer.

Early life and training

Chandan Dass began singing ghazals from the age of eight, when he started training under the tutelage of Ustad Moosa Khan. He was also trained in

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

under Pandit Mani Prasad of Delhi, a great stalwart and purist of the highest realm.

Career

His first album was released in 1982, when Talat Aziz discovered and introduced him to Music India Ltd. His maiden album was an instant hit and inspired him to make many more albums. He released a number of albums and cassettes. He has composed music for all his albums and has sung for many popular TV serials and

films A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of Visual arts, visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are gen ...

. He also used to perform on

Doordarshan Doordarshan (), abbreviated as DD, is India's State-owned enterprise, state-owned public broadcasting, public television broadcaster. Established by the Government of India on 15 September 1959, it is owned by the Ministry of Information and B ...

, India's national Television Network, in the serial ''Sugam Sangeet'' in 1980s along with Penaz Masani, Raj Kumar Rizvi, Rajendra Mehta and Neena Mehta. His achievements in the field of music can be seen from the various awards he has got throughout his career. His album "Deewangi (

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

: दीवानगी) ''Erotomania''" was a trendsetter. Apart from being one of the most popular ghazal singers in recent times, Dass has also been composing music for mainstream

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...

movies.

Personal life

Chandan Dass considers

Mehdi Hassan Mehdi Hassan Khan (; 18 July 1927 – 13 June 2012), known as Mehdi Hassan, was a Pakistani ghazal singer and playback singer of great renown. Widely considered one of the greatest and most influential figures in the history of ghazal singing, ...

the father of ghazals and likes to encourage aspirants to keep the trend of ghazals as a music genre alive in India. His aim has always been to give the audiences good music and to reach out to people and touch their hearts. Chandan's compositions and ghazals are of a high order and the rendering is well balanced, flawless and of clear diction. Chandan Dass is married to Yamini Dass and has one son, Namit Das, who is an actor and singer. His brother-in-law Jaidev Kumar is a famous Punjabi music director.

Tours and performances

Chandan Dass has given innumerable live performances, not only all over India but also abroad. His shows have been highly appreciated, applauded and raved about by the audiences who have heard him. He has created a niche in the hearts of the masses and stands like a pillar amongst the doyen of ghazal singers in the present era. * He has also toured the world with his renditions of ghazals and also performed at a live concert in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

to rave reviews. * Chandan Dass regaled the audience in a live concert in

Lucknow Lucknow () is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the largest city of the List of state and union territory capitals in India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is the administrative headquarters of the epon ...

town of

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

on 28 November 2005 with his scintillating rendition. * Recently, he was Chief Guest at the five-day inter-faculty youth festival and cultural fest ''Spandan 2013'' of

Banaras Hindu University Banaras Hindu University (BHU), formerly Benares Hindu University, is a collegiate, central, and research university located in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India, and founded in 1916. The university incorporated the Central Hindu College, ...

held in February–March 2013.

Discography

Awards

Chandan's efforts have been rewarded through many awards coming his way from the first Best New Ghazal Singer of 1983 to the two prestigious SUMU awards under the categories of Best Ghazal and The Best Ghazal Singer of 1993 for his album ''Deewangi''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dass, Chandan 1956 births Living people Indian male ghazal singers Musicians from Delhi