Pandit A Pandit ( sa, पण्डित, paṇḍit; hi, पंडित; also spelled Pundit, pronounced ; abbreviated Pt.) is a man with specialised knowledge or a teacher of any field of knowledge whether it is shashtra (Holy Books) or shastra (Wea ...

Gopal Krishan Sharma (1926-2004) was an exponent of

Vichitra Veena The ''vichitra veena'' ( sa, विचित्र वीणा) is a stick zither, a plucked string instrument used in Hindustani music. Similar to the Carnatic music, Carnatic ''gottuvadhyam'' (chitra vina) it has no frets and is played with a ...

, an ancient Indian musical instrument.

Early life and Musical Training

Gopal Krishan was given initial music lessons by his father, Pandit Nand Kishore, who was himself a noted surbahar player, a vocalist and a student of Pt. Vishnu Digambar Paluskar. After his father's death, Gopal Krishan continued his training in music under the guidance of Pt. Khubchand Bramchari of the Gwalior school of music. He joined All India Radio (AIR) in 1949 and later became an accomplished artist there.

Skills and Style

Gopal Krishan was a versatile musician, possessing the ability to play different instruments like

tabla A tabla, bn, তবলা, prs, طبلا, gu, તબલા, hi, तबला, kn, ತಬಲಾ, ml, തബല, mr, तबला, ne, तबला, or, ତବଲା, ps, طبله, pa, ਤਬਲਾ, ta, தபலா, te, తబల� ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

, and a folk instrument called the ektara. In addition to his musical skill, Gopal Krishan was also a good vocalist. Gopal Krishan was adept at playing ragas in pure forms and skilled with the

dhrupad Dhrupad is a genre in Hindustani classical music from the Indian subcontinent. It is the oldest known style of major vocal styles associated with Hindustani classical music, Haveli Sangeet of Pushtimarg Sampraday and also related to the South I ...

style, aalap, jod and jhala. His compositions were unique as for the Dhamar as well as the other rhythmic patterns. His jhala playing was a myriad of various patterns of rhythm and mix of strokes of mizrab. This often led to the crescendo which produced a trance like climax before concluding his recital. He created many new ragas, the most prominent of which being Shiv Onkar, Tilak Malhar and Saraswati Sarang. He composed many orchestra compositions for akashwani, including taar nritya.

Teaching style and students

Gopal Krishnan was known to be a strict guru. His lessons to his disciples were often focused on ensuring the purity of a raga and melodious patterns of rhythm. His disciples are well known artists. His prominent disciples are— Pandit Shri krishan Sharma (Son, Vichitra Veena & Guitar), Shri Murli Krishan (Sitar), Smt Anubha Banerjee (Sitar), Sh. Rajan Swaroop Rajan (Vocal), Durjoy (vocal), Smriti Madan (sitar), Shruti Kalra (sitar), Smriti Minocha (Vocal), Sh. Umakant Saxena (guitar), Vinay Jain (guitar), Rakesh Jhori (guitar), Sh. Jugal Kishore Jain (jaltarang), Sh. Narendra Lahad (sarod),Pandit Nishindra Kinjalk (Sitar & Surbahar), and Sh. M.C.Gotan (violin). Gianni Richizzi (Vichitra Veena), Anurag Swarup (Vichitra Veena), Vinay Jain, Ronald Simpson, Doug Bartel and Umesh Chandra are other prominent disciples.

Awards

He was given the Sangeet Natak Academy Award by the Honourable President of India, Dr Shankar Dayal Sharma in the year 1994. He was also conferred the coveted Lichhavi Sangeet Sammaan in 2000.

References

1926 births 2004 deaths Hindustani instrumentalists Vichitra veena players Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award 20th-century Indian male classical singers Indian conductors (music) All India Radio people 20th-century conductors (music) {{India-musician-stub

Early life and Musical Training

Skills and Style

Teaching style and students

Awards

See also

References