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.
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. The term shastriya sangeet literally means classical music, and can also mean Indian classical music in general. It is played on instruments like the veena, sitar and sarod. Its origins from the 12th century CE, when it diverged from Carnatic music, the classical tradition in South India. While Carnatic music largely uses compositions produced in Sanskrit, Kannada, Telugu, Tamil and sometimes in Malayalam, Hindustani music largely uses compositions written in Hindi, Punjabi, Rajasthani, Urdu, and Braj Bhasha.
Shobha Gurtu (1925–2004) was an Indian singer in the light Hindustani classical style. Though she had equal command over pure classical style, it was with light classical music that she received her fame, and in time came to be known as the Thumri Queen, and for the 'Abhinaya' sung in her full-throated voice.
Girija Devi was an Indian classical singer of the Seniya and Banaras gharanas. She performed classical and light classical music and helped elevate the profile of thumri. She was dubbed as the 'Queen of Thumri' for her contribution in the genre. She died on 24 October 2017.
Prabha Atre is an Indian classical vocalist from the Kirana gharana. She has been awarded all three of the Padma Awards by the Government of India.
Kumudini Lakhia is an Indian Kathak dancer and choreographer based in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, where she founded Kadamb School of Dance and Music, an institute of Indian dance and music in 1967.
Gauhar Jaan was an Indian singer and dancer from Kolkata. She was one of the first performers to record music on 78 rpm records in India, which was later released by the Gramophone Company of India and resulted in her being known as "the Gramophone girl" and "the first recording superstar of India". Having recorded more than 600 songs in more than ten languages between 1902 and 1920, Jaan is credited with popularising Hindustani classical music such as thumri, dadra, kajri, and tarana during the period.
"Bombay" Jayashri Ramnath is an Indian Carnatic vocalist, singer, and musician. She has sung in multiple languages including Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi movies. Born into a family of musicians, Jayashri represents the fourth generation of music practitioners in her family. Trained by Lalgudi Jayaraman and T.R. Balamani, she was awarded India's fourth highest civilian award, the Padma Shri, in 2021. She has become one of the most sought after Carnatic musicians today.
Pandit Shambhu Maharaj was a Guru of the Lucknow Gharana (school) of the Indian classical dance form, Kathak..Padma Shree Award -1958 Sangeet Natak Academic Award -1967
Underscore Records Pvt. Ltd. is a music label and website that specializes in music from India. It contains an online music store where you can source and buy various genres of Indian music presented by different artistes. All copyrights for the music on the site rest in most cases with the musicians who made and recorded it, and hence revenues generated from sales also go almost entirely to the artistes.
Gandharva Mahavidyalaya New Delhi is an institution established in 1939 to popularize Indian classical music and dance. The Mahavidyalaya (school) came into being to perpetuate the memory of Pandit Vishnu Digambar Paluskar, the great reviver of Hindustani classical music, and to keep up the ideals set down by him. The first Gandharva Mahavidyalaya was established by him on 5 May 1901 at Lahore. The New Delhi school follows the syllabi set by the Akhil Bharatiya Gandharva Mahavidyalaya Mandal.
Madhup Mudgal is an Indian Hindustani classical music vocalist., known for his khayal and bhajan renditions. A disciple of Kumar Gandharva, he is also a composer, conductor of famous Gandharva Choir and has been principal of the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, Delhi, a music and dance school since 1995.
Madhavi Mudgal is an Indian classical dancer known for her Odissi dance style. She has won several awards, including the Sanskriti Award, 1984, President of India's award of Padma Shri, 1990, the Orissa State Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, 1996, Grande Medaille de la Ville by Govt. of France, 1997, Central Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, 2000, Delhi State Parishad Samman, 2002 and the title of Nritya Choodamani in 2004.
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.
Naina Devi also known as Naina Ripjit Singh, was Indian vocalist of Hindustani classical music, most known for her thumri renditions, though she also sang dadra and ghazals. She was a music producer at All India Radio and later with Doordarshan. She started her musical training under Girja Shankar Chakravarty in her teens, later restarted it with Ustad Mushtaq Hussain Khan of Rampur-Sahaswan gharana and Rasoolan Bai of Benaras gharana, in the 1950s. Born in an aristocratic family in Kolkata, she was married into the royal family of Kapurthala State at age 16, and was started singing in concerts only after her husband died in 1949, and she moved to Delhi.
Justice Mukul Mudgal is a retired Indian judge of Delhi High Court, and remained Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court from 2009 to 2011. He is currently the head of the FIFA Governance Committee and Review Committee.
Rita Ganguly is an exponent in the Indian classical arts. An accomplished dancer, musician and vocalist, she was honoured with the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2000 and with the Padma Shri in 2003. She is the mother of actress Meghna Kothari and the younger sister of the famous Ravindra Sangeet singer Gita Ghatak.
Vinay Chandra Maudgalya(1918 - 1995) was an Indian classical musician, vocalist and the founder of Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, a music and dance academy for the promotion of Hindustani music and Indian classical dances. He was a follower of Gwalior gharana. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest Indian civilian honour of Padma Shri in 1984.
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.
Dr. Rita Dev is a Hindustani classical singer. She is a disciple of the Thumri vocalist Padma Vibhushan Vidhushi, Dr. Girija Devi.
