Kashinath Mukherjee (8 January 1925 - 28 October 2011) was a

Hindustani classical music Hindustani classical music is the Indian classical music, classical music of the Indian subcontinent's northern regions. It may also be called North Indian classical music or ''Uttar Bhartiya shastriya sangeet''. The term ''shastriya sangeet'' ...

ian and

sitar The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form in 19th-century India. Khusrau K ...

player of

Etawah Gharana The Etawah gharana is a North Indian school of sitar and surbahar music and named after a small town close to Agra where Imdad Khan (1848–1920) lived. It is also known as Imdadkhani gharana in the honour of its founder, Imdad Khan. Imdad K ...

Early life

Kashinath Mukherjee was born in

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

into an aristocratic family having a rich cultural heritage. His father Shital Chandra Mukherjee was a scientist specialized in chemistry, as well as a learned dhrupad singer. He is younger brother of film director

Hrishikesh Mukherjee Hrishikesh Mukherjee (30 September 1922 – 27 August 2006) was an Indian film director, editor and writer. He is regarded as one of the greatest filmmakers of Indian cinema. Popularly known as ''Hrishi-da'', he directed 42 films during his car ...

. His family consists of academics. Inspired by elder brother Hrishikesh Mukherjee (who became a film director later), he started to play sitar before starting to learn formally. His younger brother is Dwarkanath Mukherjee, a screenplay writer for many Bollywood films. Later he learned sitar from Srinivas Nag (a disciple of Ustad Enayet Khan) for twelve years. After the death of Srinivas Nag, he was under the tutelage of Ustad

Vilayat Khan Ustad Vilayat Khan (28 August 1928 – 13 March 2004) was an Indian classical sitar player, considered by many to be the greatest sitarist of his age. Along with Imdad Khan, Enayat Khan, and Imrat Khan, he is credited with the creation a ...

, one of the greatest sitarists. During this period he kept away from public appearances, as directed by his Ustad (master). His close association with legends like Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Ustad Amir Khan, and Ustad Keramat Ullah Khan informed his musical views. Due to his inclination towards Amir Khan's singing, he learned from Amir Khan until Khan's death. Mukherjee has participated in concerts in India and abroad. He is the recipient of the ITC Sangeet Samman award among others. Ramprapanna Bhattacharya and Abhik Mukherjee are among his most prominent disciples.

References

1925 births 2011 deaths Hindustani instrumentalists Indian male classical musicians Indian sitar players Etawah gharana {{India-musician-stub