Pt.
Biswajit Chowdhury
Rajshekhar Mansur
Born in 1942,
Rajshekhar Mansur is
the son and disciple of
the doyen of the Jaipur-
Atrauli gharana, the late
Pandit Mallikarjun
Mansur. Besides
rigorous musical training at home under the
exacting tutelage of his father, Rajshekhar also
excelled in academics, going on to become a
Professor of English at the University of Dharwar,
Karnataka.
He was a constant accompanist to his father in
most of Pandit Mansur's concerts and recordings
despite managing to teach and guide his students of
English literature at the University. Rajshekhar
Mansur is a nationally respected and serious
musician with a highly tuneful voice combined with
an enviable repertoire of ragas and compositions.
He has not only been a diligent custodian of the
musical treasures bequeathed by his father but also
contributed to the world of classical Hindustani
music by his own inimitable style and sense of
imagination. He revels in singing rare and lesser-
known ragas like Meghavali, Lachhasaakh, Godhan
Gauri, types of Malhars, Bilawals and Nat. A Top
Grade vocalist with the All India Radio, he
continues to perform extensively. The Karnataka
Government has awarded him the Rajyotsava Award
in 1997 and nominated him as the Chairman of
State Sangeet Natak Akademi.
Pandit Mallikarjun Mansur
Mallikarjun Bheemarayappa Mansur (1910-1992) was
one of the greatest singers of Khyal in the latter half of
the 20th century. Trained in the Gwalior and the Jaipur-
Atrauli styles of Hindustani music, he received the three
Padma Awards: Padma Shri (1970), Padma Bhushan
(1976) and just a few months before his death the
Padma Vibhushan in 1992.
A native of Dharwad in North Karnataka, Mansur was
known for his command over a large number of rare
(aprachalit) ragas such as Shuddh Nat, Hem Nat,
Lachchhasakh, Devsakh, Khat and Bahaduri Todi.
He was an immensely charismatic performer and his
singing was marked by mercurial improvisations of both
melody and rhythm. His sonorous and exceptionally
well-trained voice had rare emotional appeal. His home
in Dharwad was converted into a memorial museum.
Mansur wrote an autobiography titled Nanna Rasayatire
in Kannada, which has been translated into English as
My Journey in Music by his son, Rajshekhar Mansur.
The Centenary is supported by
The Ministry of Culture, Govt. of India
Shriram Bhartiya Kala Kendra
New Age Foundattion
Sangeet Natak Akademi
Power Finance Corporation
Power Grid Corporation
New Age Foundation
Shriram Bhartiya Kala Kendra
Centre for Media and Alternative Communication
CMAC
Pandit Mallikarjun Mansur Centenary Committee
Ashok Vajpeyi, Shobha Deepaksingh, S. Kalidas and Parthiv Shah
Centenary Celebrations
Photograph by Parthiv Shah Design: www.cmaconline.org 1 910 - 1 9 9 2
Smt. Priyadarshini Kulkarni
Priyadarshini Kulkarni is a
committed performer of
Hindustani classical music,
having exhibited a prodigious
musical aptitude from the age of
eight. She learnt under Pt. Nath
Neralkar of Aurangabad from
1980 to 1989 and started giving
performances early. To her credit she has and won
several music competitions at the state and national
levels. She also obtained her Msc in Microbiology
from Aurangabad University with distinction.
Priyadarshini completed her Sangeet Alankar from
Pune and M.A.(Music) from SNDT Univ., Mumbai.
Since 1992 Priyadarshini got the opportunity to
learn from Pt. Rajshekhar Mansur, son of the
doyen of Khyal the late Pt. Mallikarjun Mansur,
himself a distinguished exponent of the Jaipur
school. Priyadarshini also received special guidance
in Jaipur-Atrauli style from Shri Madhusudan
Kanetkar, one of the most respected teachers of
music in country.
Priyadarshini has been a Fellow of the Ministry of
Culture, Govenment of India, and is a graded artist
of All India Radio since 1997 regularly performing
from its Pune Kendra. She has been honoured with
the Bapurao Ashtekar Puraskar instituted by Pune
Bharat Gayan Samaj, in 2004.
Priyadarshini performs regularly from prestigious
platforms such Bharat Bhavan (Bhopal ), NCPA
(Mumbai ), Shriram Shankarlal Music Festival (New
Delhi) to name just a few.
Pt. Ulhas Kashalkar
In an age when maestros of the
older generation express fear of
the decadence of Indian musical
traditions, Ulhas Kashalkar’s
voice and music stands like the
colossus, as an eternal reminder
of the strength of this great art.
Born in a family of musicians, his
father, Shri N.D.Kashalkar, a musician in his own
right, initiated him into vocal music. In time, he was
accepted as a disciple by such great masters of the art
as Pandit Ram Marathe and Pandit Gajananbua Joshi.
Thus he received training of the highest order in three
distinct gharanas - Gwalior, Agra and Jaipur.
Blessed with a sonorous voice and the ability to blend
the three gayakis with authenticity and aesthetic
excellence, he has emerged as one of the most
formidable vocalists of the country. Widely regarded
as the musicians’ musician Ulhas Kashalkar is the
recipient of several awards such as the Padma Shri,
Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, Jadubhatta Puraskar
and Swar-Ratna Award and has been conferred with
titles such as “Raag Rishi”.
Ulhas Kashalkar is a much sought after musician both
in India and abroad. He has performed at some of the
most prestigious venues of the world from The Town
Hall (Kolkata) to Lincoln Center (New York) and The
Southbank Centre (London).
For over a decade now, he has been with the ITC
Sangeet Research Academy, Kolkata, as a guru,
producing numerous students of high calibre.
Pt. Biswajit Roy Chowdhury
Biswajit Roy
Chowdhury stands
out as a serious
exponent of
Hindustani classical
music for his singular
commitment to
classicism and his conscious combination of the
best in instrumental and vocal music traditions.
With his superb technical virtuosity over his
instrument, the sarod, Biswajit revels in the sheer
joy of music making.
Biswajit was initiated into music by his father Ranajit
Roy Chowdhury, and later trained by Pandit
Indraneel Bhattacharya, a prime disciple of Ustad
Allauddin Khan. In 1978 Biswaji’s talents were
spotted by the sarod maestro Ustad Amjad Ali
Khan who facilitated a scholarship for the young
musician to train with him in New Delhi. Having
been trained in the two major instrumental
traditions, Biswajit’s quest for a deeper knowledge
of raga-vidya led him to Pandit Mallikarjun Mansur
who accepted him as a pupil 1984. Biswajit’s
tutelage under Pandit Mallikarjun Mansur lasted till
the demise of the guru in 1992. Biswajit also
benefited from guidance of Dr Sumati Mutatkar
and Pandit Balasahab Poochwale.
Biswajit was conferred with the Ustad Allauddin
Khan Award in 1999 and the Pandit Malikarjun
Mansur Memorial Award in 2004. The Government
of France bestowed the title of Chavellier des Arts et
des Letters in the 2006.