Mattanur Sankarankutty is an Indian percussionist who plays the chenda, Thayambaka, Panchari melam, and Panchavadyam. He was born in Mattanur in Kannur district of Kerala. He was awarded the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award in 1996, the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 2009 and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2012.
Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar, popularly known as Ariyakudi, was a Carnatic music vocalist, born in Ariyakudi, a town in the present-day Sivaganga district of Tamil Nadu. Ariyakudi developed a unique style of singing which came to be known as The Ariyakudi Tradition and is followed by his students. He is credited with establishing the modern katcheri (concert) traditions in Carnatic music.
Thetakudi Harihara Vinayakram, also known as Vikku Vinayakram, is an Indian percussionist. He is also known as the God of ghatam. He plays Carnatic music with the ghatam, an earthen pot, and is credited with popularising the ghatam.
Pandit Vijay Raghav Rao was an Indian flutist, composer, choreographer, musicologist, poet and fiction writer.
Umayalpuram Kasiviswanatha Sivaraman is an Indian musician and exponent of the Carnatic percussion instrument, the mridangam. He is a recipient of the Padma Vibhushan as well as the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award.
V. K. Narayana Menon (1911–1997) was a scholar of classical Indian dance and Indian classical music. He was one of the prominent art critics of India and a Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship.
Rajkumar Singhajit Singh, is a leading exponent, choreographer and a guru of Indian classical dance form of Manipuri, including the Pung cholom and Raslila. He was awarded with the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1984 and the Padma Shri in 1986 for his contribution to the Manipuri dance. In the year 2011, Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's The National Academy for Music, Dance and Drama, awarded him with its highest award, the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship for his contribution to Indian Dance. In 2014 he was also conferred with the Tagore Award.
Ustad Sabri Khan was an Indian sarangi player, who was descended on both sides of his family from a line of distinguished musicians.
Taalyogi Pandit Suresh Talwalkar is an Indian musician who plays the percussion instrument tabla.
Sundari K. Shridharani was the founder and director of Triveni Kala Sangam, a multi-arts institution, which she established in 1950.
Kalaimamani Thiruvalaputhur T A Kaliyamurthy was a noted Thavil musical artist providing 'special' Thavil accompaniment to the Nagaswaram maestros.
Shanno Khurana is a noted Indian classical vocalist and composer, from the Rampur-Sahaswan gharana of Hindustani classical music. A disciple of the doyen of the gharana, Ustad Mushtaq Hussain Khan, she is known for performing rare bandish and raag, though her singing style includes genres like khayal, tarana, thumri, dadra, tappa, to chaiti and bhajan. Born and brought up in Jodhpur, she started singing on All India Radio in 1945 in Lahore, later shifted to Delhi, where she continued her singing on All India Radio, Delhi and in concerts and music festivals. She also pursued music education, finally earning her M.Phil. and PhD in music from the Kairagarh University, and has undertakes extensive research on folk music of Rajasthan.
A. K. C. Natarajan is a carnatic music clarinet player. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 2008. He received a Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1994. He was bestowed with the title Nadha Dweepa Kalanidhi by Nadhadweepam Trust, Tiruchirappalli. He learnt vocal music from Alathur Venkatesa Iyer and his nagaswaram teacher was Iluppur Natesa Pillai, brother of the thavil maestro Iluppur Panchami. In 2022, Natarajan was awarded a Padma Shri, the fourth-highest honour that can be bestowed upon a civilian in India, for contribution in the arts.
Hafeez Ahmed Khan was an Indian classical musician of Hindustani classical music. He is known as one of the leading exponents of the Rampur-Sahaswan gharana, a musical school popular in the northern parts of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. He learnt music in gurukul system and pursued his academic studies the conventional way, secured a master's degree in politics and taught at the University of Minnesota. He was a deputy director of the All India Radio and the vice chancellor of the Indira Kala Sangeet University, the only Indian university dedicated to music. He mentored many disciples such as Rajendra Prasanna, Roma Rani Bhattacharya, Sakuntala Narasimhan and Subhendu Ghosh and acted in a German movie on the life of Tansen, by name, The Rain Maker. He was a recipient of the 1996 Sangeet Natak Akademi Award. The Government of India awarded her the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padma Shri in 1991. Hafeez Ahmed Khan, who was married to the daughter of renowned singer, Nissar Hussain Khan, died in 2006.
Yumlembam Gambhini Devi is an Indian singer of Nata Sankirtana and dancer of Manipuri Raas. She is a member of faculty at Jawaharlal Nehru Manipur Dance Academy (JNMDA) and a recipient of the 1988 Sangeet Natak Akademi Award. The Government of India awarded her the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padma Shri, in 2005, for her contributions to Manipuri dance and music.
Sonam Tshering Lepcha was an Indian folk musician, composer and lyricist. He was the first among Lepcha people to air his voice on All India Radio and was credited with the revival of Lepcha culture, one of the indigenous cultures of the Indian state of Sikkim. He was reported to be credited with over 400 folk songs, 102 folk dances and 10 dance dramas. He died on 30 July, 2020 due to cardiac arrest.
Valayapatti A. R. Subramaniam is an Indian classical musician and percussionist, considered by many as one of the foremost prominent exponents of thavil also known as dolu, a traditional percussion instrument in Carnatic music, accompanying windpipe instruments such as nadaswaram, saxophone, clarinet, etc, and string instruments like violin, mandolin, etc. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 2009. He is a recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padma Shri, in 2007, for his contributions to Music.
Govind Ram Nirmalkar (1935–2014) was an Indian actor and folk theatre artist, known for his contributions to the Nacha folk theatre of Chhattisgarh. His portrayal of the protagonist in Charan Das Chor, an award winning play by Habib Tanveer, won him critical acclaim. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padma Shri, in 2009, for his contributions to Arts. He was also a recipient of the 2012 Sangeet Natak Akademi Award.
Thanga Darlong is an Indian folk music artist, known for his contribution to the folk music of Tripura and his work in preserving & promoting the traditional instrument Rosem.
Hiralal Yadav was an Indian folk singer, who was awarded the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award in India in 2019. He was awarded the Yash Bharti Award in 2015.
