Laxmi Narayan Singh | |
---|---|
Birth name | Laxmi Narayan Singh |
Also known as | Lacchu Maharaj |
Born | March 9, 1944 Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India |
Died | July 28, 2016 72) Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India | (aged
Genres | Hindustani classical music |
Occupation(s) | Musician |
Instrument(s) | Tabla |
Laxmi Narayan Singh (16 October 1944 - 28 July 2016) known professionally as Lachhu Maharaj was an Indian Tabla Player of Banaras Gharana. Maharaj was born on 16 October 1944 to Vasudev Narayan Singh. His sister is Nirmala Devi, mother of Bollywood actor Govind Arun Ahuja. He was married to the noted Kathak dancer Annapurna Mishra Singh and they had one daughter Rachna. After Annapurna's demise, he married Swiss woman Teena and they had one daughter Narayani. He had given many professional tabla performances performed all over the world. He was featured in films. He was nominated for Padma Shri but refused to accept it he felt that the appreciations of his audience was enough for him.
Maharaj Singh died on 28 July 2016, at the age of 71. [1] He was cremated in Manikarnika Ghat in Varanasi, in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. [2]
Condolences were received from Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. [3] Politician Sonia Gandhi commented that "His contributions to classical as well as the popular film genre would forever inspire artistes in the years to come." [2] [4]
Then Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Akhilesh Yadav, said in his condolence message that 'Lacchu Maharaj popularized tabla playing internationally with his talented performances, and his death was a huge loss'. [2] [5]
Classical singer Girija Devi said it was an irreparable loss, and Maharaj knew the nuances of tabla like no other artist. [6]
On 16 October 2018, Google dedicated a doodle to Lachhu Maharaj on his 74th birthday anniversary. [7]
Pandit Birju Maharaj was an Indian dancer, composer, singer, and exponent of the Lucknow "Kalka-Bindadin" Gharana of Kathak dance in India. He was a descendant of the Maharaj family of Kathak dancers, which includes his two uncles, Shambhu Maharaj and Lachhu Maharaj, and his father and guru, Acchan Maharaj. He also practised Hindustani classical music and was a vocalist. After working along with his uncle, Shambhu Maharaj at Bhartiya Kala Kendra, later the Kathak Kendra, New Delhi, he remained head of the latter, for several years, until his retirement in 1998 when he opened his own dance school, Kalashram, also in Delhi.
Hariprasad Chaurasia is an Indian music director and classical flautist, who plays the bansuri, in the Hindustani classical tradition.
Pandit Jasraj was an Indian classical vocalist, belonging to the Mewati gharana. His musical career spanned 75 years resulting in national and international fame, respect and numerous major awards and accolades. His legacy includes memorable performances of classical and semi-classical vocal music, classical and devotional music, albums and film soundtracks, innovations in various genres including Haveli Sangeeth and popularizing the Mewati Gharana - a school of thought in Hindustani classical music. Pandit Jasraj taught music to amateur and professional students in India, Europe, Canada and the United States.
Akhilesh Yadav is an Indian politician and national president of the Samajwadi Party who served as the 20th Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. Having assumed the chief minister's office on 15 March 2012 at the age of 38, he is the youngest person to have held the office to date. Yadav is the Leader of Opposition in the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly since March 2022, an elected Member of Parliament for Azamgarh in the 17th Lok Sabha, and the incumbent Member of Legislative Assembly for Karhal in the 18th Vidhan Sabha.
Pandit Kishan Maharaj was an Indian tabla player who belonged to the Benares gharana of Hindustani classical music.
Pandit Bajinath Prasad also known as Pandit Lachhu Maharaj (1901–1978) was an Indian classical dancer and choreographer of Kathak dance. He came from a family of illustrious Kathak exponents in Lucknow, and also worked as film choreographer, Hindi cinema, most notably Mughal-e-Azam (1960) and Pakeezah (1972). He was awarded the 1957 Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, the highest award for performing artists, conferred by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy for Music, Dance and Drama. He was paternal uncle of Pandit Birju Maharaj.
Babu Vibhuti Narayan Singh was the king of Benares, a city considered holy, located in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. He was the last Bhumihar Brahmin king of the Kingdom of Kashi.
Pandit Vikash Maharaj is an Indian sarod player. In his childhood, he initially learnt to play the tabla and then discovered and studied the sarod as his preferred instrument.
Samta Prasad was an Indian classical musician and tabla player from the Benares gharana. He played tabla in many Hindi films including, Meri Surat Teri Ankhen (1963) and Sholay (1975), and film music composers Rahul Dev Burman and Bappi Lahiri were his disciples.
National Institute of Kathak Dance, also known as Kathak Kendra, is the premier dance institution for the Indian classical dance form of Kathak, and a unit of the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama, situated in New Delhi. Established in 1964, the institution is primarily dedicated to Kathak, though it also offers courses in Hindustani classical music (Vocal) and Pakhawaj and Tabla.
Swara Samrat festival is a four-day annual festival of Indian classical music and dance held during the winters in Kolkata, India. This festival is the brainchild of Sarod maestro Pandit Tejendra Narayan Majumdar, his vocalist wife, Manasi Majumder and their Sarod player-son Indrayuddh Majumder. The festival is dedicated to Swara Samrat Ustad Ali Akbar Khan. Indian Classical Music and Dance Legends such as Pandit Shivkumar Sharma, Pandit Birju Maharaj, Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Pandit Jasraj, Ustad Zakir Hussain, Ustad Aashish Khan, Dr. Girija Devi, Begum Parveen Sultana, Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri, Guru Karaikudi Mani, Ustad Rashid Khan, Shankar Mahadevan, Pandit Budhaditya Mukherjee, Pandit Ulhas Kashalkar, Pandit Venkatesh Kumar, Pandit Ajoy Chakraborty, Pandit Anindo Chatterjee, Pandit Sanjay Mukherjee, Ustad Shahid Parvez, Ustad Shujaat Khan, Pandit Tejendra Narayan Majumdar, Pandit Kushal Das, Pandit Rajendra Gangani, Guru Sujata Mohapatra, Pandit Subhankar Banerjee, Pandit Yogesh Samsi, Pandit Bickram Ghosh, Pandit Tanmoy Bose and Kaushiki Chakraborty are some of the artists who have previously performed in this festival.
Music in Varanasi is a tradition linked to the ancient times of the Pauranic legends. Lord Shiva, who is reported to have established this city, was credited with developing music and dance forms. Legend also attributes that Renu}, son of sage Vishvamitra and Mahagobind, was the precursors of music tradition in Kashi (Varanasi) when nymphs (Apsaras), Gandharvas and Kinnaras were the traditional practitioners of this art form, and saint Chaitanya and Vallabhacharya were the pioneers in spreading this music tradition in Varanasi. Notable musicians of Varanasi include the iconic sitar player Ravi Shankar, the Shehnai maestro Bismillah Khan, Sarod maestro Vikash Maharaj and singer Girija Devi. has joined the global bandwagon of UNESCO "Cities of Music" under the Creative Cities Network. Varanasi chosen in music category of creative cities network clearly signifies the rich musical heritage of this ancient city.
Ashutosh Bhattacharya was a noted Indian classical musician of Hindustani classical music from Varanasi, who was Tabla player and music educator, besides a practicing Ayurvedic doctor.
Mulayam Singh Yadav was an Indian politician, a socialist figure and founder of the Samajwadi Party. Over the course of his political career spanning more than six decades, he served for three terms as the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, and also as the Union Minister of Defence in the Government of India. A long-time parliamentarian, he was a seven-time Member of Parliament representing Mainpuri, Azamgarh, Sambhal and Kannauj constituencies in the Lok Sabha, a ten-time member of the Legislative Assembly, member of the Legislative Council and the Leader of Opposition for several times as well. The veteran politician was a prominent figure of his time in Indian Politics, and was often referred to as Netaji and Dhartiputra by party leaders and workers. In 2023, the socialist leader was posthumously conferred with Padma Vibhushan, India’s second highest civilian award by the Government of India.
Pandit Chandra Nath Shastri, is a tabla musician from India, currently based in Kolkata. He belongs to the Benares gharana style of Hindustani classical music. He is a retired staff artist of All India Radio and performed regularly for public-television broadcaster Doordarshan. He is also an astrologer.
Uttar Pradesh Sangeet Natak Akademi is a key branch of the Uttar Pradesh state government's Department of Culture. Each year the Academy Awards for excellence in performance of music, art and literature are awarded at the Uttar Pradesh Sangeet Natak Akademi.
Ishaan Ghosh is the son and disciple of the Tabla and Sitar maestro Pandit Nayan Ghosh. Ishaan is a Tabla player from the Farrukhabad Gharana.
Vinod Kumar Singh alias Pandit Singh was an Indian politician from the state of Uttar Pradesh. A three-time legislator and a senior member of the Samajwadi Party, Pandit Singh represented Gonda assembly constituency in the 13th, 14th and 16th Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly which is the lower house of the bicameral legislature of Uttar Pradesh. He also served as a cabinet minister in the Govt. of Uttar Pradesh under the chief ministership of Akhilesh Yadav. He also contested the 2019 parliamentary elections from Gonda but lost to Kirti Vardhan Singh of BJP. He died on 7 May 2021 from COVID-19 related complications at the age of 59 years.