Pandit Chandra Nath Shastri ( bn, চন্দ্রনাথ শাস্ত্রী, hi, चंद्रनाथ शास्त्री, 23 December 1948), is a tabla (Indian hand percussion) musician from India, currently based in Kolkata. He belongs to the

Benares gharana Benares gharānā (Hindi: बनारस घराना) is one of the six most common styles of playing of the Indian tabla. History The Benares tabla gharana was developed a little over 200 years ago by Pandit Ram Sahai (1780–1826). At ...

style of Hindustani classical music. He is a retired staff artist of All India Radio and performed regularly for public-television broadcaster

Doordarshan Doordarshan (abbreviated as DD; Hindi: , ) is an Indian public service broadcaster founded by the Government of India, owned by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and one of Prasar Bharati's two divisions. One of India's largest bro ...

. He is also an

astrologer Astrology is a range of divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of celestial objects. Dif ...

.Official website: Pandit Chandra Nath Shatri
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Early life and family

He was born in the Dhakuria area of Calcutta (now Kolkata), West Bengal, in a Bramhin family. Soon his parents and family relocated to Varanasi ( Banaras, Benares, Benaras), Uttar Pradesh (UP), where he undertook training in the

style. He was influenced by poet and lyricist

Rabindra Nath Tagore Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resha ...

. His grandmother, Smt. Indira Devi was niece of Rabindra Nath Tagore. His father, Mouli Nath Shastri, was a physician but he was also a spiritual guru and musician (tabla player), vocal student of Rabindra Nath Tagore, and had directed and acted in theatre (''Muktisnan'', 1937; ''Sancharini'', 1963).

Academics

Shastri completed his intermediate schooling at C. M. Anglo Bengali Inter College, Varanasi, UP. He then graduated in science from Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi.

Musical career

Shastri's father noted his interest in Hindustani classical music from a very young age and taught him to play some ''

taals The acetolactate synthase (ALS) enzyme (also known as acetohydroxy acid or acetohydroxyacid synthase, abbr. AHAS) is a protein found in plants and micro-organisms. ALS catalyzes the first step in the synthesis of the branched-chain amino acids ...

'' on tabla. At age 5 Shastri began learning from his guruji, Pandit Anokhelal Mishra of

Banaras Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world. * * * * The city has a syncretic tra ...

, and later from his son, Ramji Mishra. Shastri and his elder brother, Nath Shastri, would go to AnokhelalJi to learn tabla. Shastri became a fifth-generation tabla maestro of

. As a young teenager he became close to Mahadev Prasad Mishra, Kishan Maharaj, Samta Prasad, Sarda Sahai, and Karamatullah Khan. Chandra Nath Shastri became the champion in an All India Radio (AIR) national competition at age 23, and from a young age was often referred to by the title ''pandit''. He became an AIR staff artist, Indian National Television Channel (

) artist and also a stage performing artist. As a regular performer on TV, radio and stage, he has made several thousand performances and recordings.

Performances

Shastri has performed in many concerts, including tabla solos, percussion ensembles, and accompanied with instrumentalists and vocalists, and worked with numerous music composers and film directors. He also performed with Mahadev Prasad Mishra,

V. G. Jog Vishnu Govind Jog, better known as V. G. Jog (22 February 1922 – 31 January 2004), was an Indian violinist. He was the foremost exponent of the violin in the Hindustani music tradition in the 20th century, and is credited for introducing ...

, Sagiruddin Khan, Rashid Khan, Lalmani Misra, and

Buddhadev Das Gupta Buddhadev Das Gupta (1 February 1933 – 15 January 2018) was an Indian classical musician who played the sarod. He used to reside in Kolkata, India. He was one of the artists featured in Nimbus Records' ''The Raga Guide''. Early life and tr ...

. Shastri judged many musical competitions and talent-hunt contests. He conducted research in Indian music and produced unique works on music, especially in the field of tabla. He also plays Pakhawaj, Khol,

Mridangam The mridangam is a percussion instrument of ancient origin. It is the primary rhythmic accompaniment in a Carnatic music ensemble. In Dhrupad, a modified version, the pakhawaj, is the primary percussion instrument. A related instrument is the ...

and other Indian percussion instruments.

Personal life

Shastri teaches tabla and other musical instruments, and has taught in many music schools, academies and institutes. Shastri also studies

spirituality The meaning of ''spirituality'' has developed and expanded over time, and various meanings can be found alongside each other. Traditionally, spirituality referred to a religious process of re-formation which "aims to recover the original shape o ...