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Dr. Meeta Pandit is a
Hindustani Classical Hindustani classical music is the classical music of northern regions of the Indian subcontinent. It may also be called North Indian classical music or, in Hindustani, ''shastriya sangeet'' (). It is played in instruments like the violin, sita ...
vocalist and a leading exponent of the
Gwalior Gharana The Gwalior Gharana (Gwalior school of classical music) is one of the oldest Khyal Gharana in Indian classical music. The rise of the Gwalior Gharana started with the reign of the Mughal emperor Akbar (1542–1605). The favourite singers of t ...
. She is the granddaughter and disciple of
Krishnarao Shankar Pandit ''Gaan Maharishi'' Pt. Krishnarao Shankar Pandit (1893–1989) was an Indian musician, considered by many as one of the leading vocalists of the Gwalior gharana. He authored several articles and 8 books on music and was the founder of ''Shankar ...
and daughter of Laxman Krishnarao Pandit. She is the sixth in the unbroken lineage and the first woman in the family to have taken up music as a profession.


Early life

Meeta was born in New Delhi, India. She is the daughter of Abha Pandit, a homemaker and Pt. Laxman Krishnarao Pandit, a veteran singer of the
Gwalior gharana The Gwalior Gharana (Gwalior school of classical music) is one of the oldest Khyal Gharana in Indian classical music. The rise of the Gwalior Gharana started with the reign of the Mughal emperor Akbar (1542–1605). The favourite singers of t ...
and Sangeet Natak Akademi awardee. She spent her childhood in New Delhi, where she attended St. Mary's School until higher secondary, and earned a bachelor's degree in Commerce from Lady Sri Ram College, Delhi University. Meeta began training with her grandfather Padma Bhushan Pt.
Krishnarao Shankar Pandit ''Gaan Maharishi'' Pt. Krishnarao Shankar Pandit (1893–1989) was an Indian musician, considered by many as one of the leading vocalists of the Gwalior gharana. He authored several articles and 8 books on music and was the founder of ''Shankar ...
and her father Pt. L.K Pandit at the age of 3. Growing up in a house where music ustads and her father's disciples visited day in and day out, and all conversations centered around music, she was exposed to the finer aspects of music from a very young age. However, as a teenager, she was encouraged by her parents to take up a more stable profession than music, primarily due to the irregular working hours and solo travels involved, making it a difficult career choice for a woman. Her elder brother Tushar Pandit was in fact, being groomed to take the family legacy forward. He was pursuing a PhD in Hindustani classical music when he met with a fatal road accident in New Delhi on 1 September 1994 at the age of 27. Meeta, who was pursuing her bachelor's degree at the time and preparing for an MBA, decided to take up the cudgels of carrying on the legacy and went on to pursue her masters in music. She completed her PhD in the Hindustani Classical music by the age of 27.


Career

Meeta gave her first performance on stage at the age of 9, during a 3-day music festival ‘Prasang’ organized by her grandfather, Pt. Krishnarao Shankar Pandit at Bharat Bhawan, Bhopal. At the age of 15, she performed at the Sankat Mochan festival in Varanasi, one of India's biggest annual classical music and dance festival. She has performed at almost all the major classical music festivals of India and abroad which include the prestigious Sawai Gandharva Bhimsen Festival in 1999 and 2014, the
Dover Lane Music Conference The Dover Lane Music Conference is an annual Indian classical music festival held in the month of January at Nazrul Mancha, an outdoor auditorium in south Kolkata. The Dover Lane Music Conference is an all night concert attended by visitors fr ...
, Kolkata in 2013 and 2019 and the Tansen Samaroh, Gwalior in 2011,2013 and 2019 . Other notable performances : *
India International Centre The India International Centre (IIC) is a non-official organisation situated in New Delhi, India. Membership of the IIC includes artists, academicians, senior government officials, judges, jurists, parliamentarians, doctors, ministers, governors ...
(2011 & 2014) * Nadaneerajanam, as a part of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam * WOMADelaide, New Zealand and Australia * Melbourne Recital Centre (2015) * Darbar festival, Milton Court Concert Hall, London (2018), United Kingdom * MERU Concert (2012, 2015) Netherlands * Ram Marathe Smruti Sangeet Samaroh, Thane (2017) * Pt. Jitendra Abhisheki Music Festival, Kala Academy, Goa * Pancham Group, Satara * Pracheen Kala Kendra, Chandigarh (2016) * Bagri Foundation, London (2015) * Ustad Alladiya Khan Sangeet Samaroh, Chembur, Mumbai (2015) * ViViDa Sangeet Sammelan, Pune (2013) * National Centre for the Performing Arts, Mumbai *Swarzankar, Pune * Pt. Sharatchandra Arolkar Smruti Sangeet Samaroh – Khayal Trust, Mumbai *
Harballabh Sangeet Sammelan Harballabh Sangeet Sammelan is the oldest festival of Hindustani Classical Music in the world, which is celebrated every year at the sacred seat of music, the samadhi of Baba Harballabh – a saint and an exponent of Hindustani Classical Music. T ...
, Jalandhar, Punjab (1998 and 2015) * Shri Bhaini Sahib, Satguru Jagjit Singh Sangeet Sammelan (2017) * C.R. Vyas Sangeet Samaroh, Vadodara (2015) * Saptak Music Festival, Ahmedabad * Ustad Shaik Dawood Tabla Trust, Hyderabad * Soorya Festival, Trivandrum, Kerala * Krishna Gaan Sabha, Chennai (2013 and 2015) * Delhi Classical Music Festival (2013) * Thumri Festival, Delhi (2017) * West Bengal State Music Academy Music Festival, Kolkata (2017) * Jnana Pravaha Music Festival, Birla Sabhagar, organized by Sangeet Ashram, Kolkata (2011) * Strauss Reflected with David Murphy, John Suchet and Sinfonia Verdi at
Cadogan Hall Cadogan Hall is a 950-seat capacity concert hall in Sloane Terrace in Chelsea in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England. The resident music ensemble at Cadogan Hall is the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO), the first ...
, London (2017) * Bharat Sanskriti Yatra, Stein Auditorium,
India Habitat Centre The India Habitat Centre is a multipurpose building in the city of New Delhi, India. It was the brain child of the HuDCO Chairman, Santosh Sharma. The India Habitat Centre is one of India's most comprehensive convention centers that is aimed at ...
, New Delhi * Madhya Pradesh Diwas, organized by the Government of Madhya Pradesh, Bhopal (2018) * 'Aadya',
Bharat Bhavan Bharat Bhavan is an autonomous multi-arts complex and museum in Bhopal, India, established and funded by the Government of Madhya Pradesh.The architect of the Bharat Bhavan is Charles Correa. Opened in 1982, facing the Upper Lake, Bhopal, it hous ...
, Bhopal (2017) * ' Swara- Music for Life', organized by Banyan Tree Events, Jaipur (2015) * De Meervaart, Netherlands * Zee Jaipur Literature Festival, Jaipur (2018) * SaMaPa Sangeet Sammelan, New Delhi and Jammu (2015) * 'Sapthak', Bangalore *Akashwani Sangeet Sammelan *Shimla Classical Music Festival *Chowdhury House Music Conference, Kolkata (2019) *INK Conference, Jaisalmer, Rajasthan (2019) *Adab-E-Mausiqui -Patna Literature Festival, Patna, Bihar (2019) * Gala Concert, Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit (SCO), Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan (2019)


1995–2000

Between 1995 and 2005, Meeta performed extensively in prestigious festivals in India and abroad in France, Germany, London, Switzerland, Norway, Rome, United States, Russia and Bangladesh. Through a special project by French Embassy in New Delhi, she stayed in Paris for three months as an " Artist in Residence" in 2003. There she collaborated with the Jazz pianist, Allie Delfau, as a part of an Indo-French project. She represented India as the Cultural Ambassador of India to Pakistan during the South Asian Association For Regional Co-Operation (SAARC) Summit in Islamabad in 2004. The Public Service Broadcasting Trust and Prasar Bharati made a film titled – "Meeta: Linking a Tradition with Today” – which documents her life and growth as a singer in 2005.


2005–2019

In 2008, Meeta presented a music appreciation series called "Swar Shringar" on World Space Satellite Radio. She collaborated with Amsterdam based Tabla player, Heiko Dijker on an album called "The Luminance Project". This album was launched in 2012. Since 2009, she has been a consultant with
Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), New Delhi is a premier government-funded arts organization in India. It is an autonomous institute under the Union Ministry of Culture (India), Ministry of Culture. History The Indira Ga ...
, New Delhi, a premier government-funded arts organization in India. Among other things, she is involved in a project archiving more than 60 living
maestros Maestro (; from the Italian ''wikt:maestro#Italian, maestro'' , meaning "wikt:master, master" or "teacher") is an honorific title of respect (plural: maestros or maestri). The term is most commonly used in the context of Western classical music ...
representing different genres and gharanas of Hindustani Classical music. Meeta sings in different genres such as
bhajan Bhajan refers to any devotional song with a religious theme or spiritual ideas, specifically among Indian religions, in any language. The term bhajanam (Sanskrit: भजनम्) means ''reverence'' and originates from the root word ''bhaj'' ...
, thumri, tappa and
ghazal The ''ghazal'' ( ar, غَزَل, bn, গজল, Hindi-Urdu: /, fa, غزل, az, qəzəl, tr, gazel, tm, gazal, uz, gʻazal, gu, ગઝલ) is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry. A ghazal may be understood as a ...
and has proved her mastery over
khayal Khyal or Khayal (ख़याल / خیال) is a major form of Hindustani classical music in the Indian subcontinent. Its name comes from a Persian/Arabic word meaning "imagination". Khyal is associated with romantic poetry, and allows the perfor ...
and tappa. She actively promotes
Indian Classical music Indian classical music is the classical music of the Indian subcontinent. It has two major traditions: the North Indian classical music known as '' Hindustani'' and the South Indian expression known as '' Carnatic''. These traditions were not ...
worldwide. She has also been actively coaching budding singers from India and abroad in her attempt to spread
Indian Classical Music Indian classical music is the classical music of the Indian subcontinent. It has two major traditions: the North Indian classical music known as '' Hindustani'' and the South Indian expression known as '' Carnatic''. These traditions were not ...
globally. She often performs for SPIC MACAY in various schools and colleges to ignite an interest of Indian Classical Music in students.


Awards


Before 2005

* The 'Golden Voice of India' by the Singers Society of India – 1989 * 'Sur Mani' by Sur Singar Samsad – 1992 * 'Excellence in Music' Award: by Lady Shri Ram College – 1995 * 'Full Circle Inner Flame Award', Full Circle Publishing Pvt. Ltd, 1999. (Awarded by I.K Gujral) * 'Yuva Ratna' – Youth Excellence Award by Rotaract Club – 1999 * 'Sur Mayank' – Pt. Nikhil Banerjee Smriti Award: Sangeet Bhavan (Lucknow) – 2001 * 'Yuva Ojaswini Award' – 2005