a sitar player with over 4 years of experience in captivating audiences with his enchanting melodies. With a deep passion for Indian classical music and a mastery of the sitar, I have become a sought-after performer for weddings, corporate events, and private functions. His unique blend of traditional and contemporary styles creates an unforgettable experience that transports listeners to another world. Whether you're looking to add a touch of elegance to your event or simply want to be transported by the magic of the sitar, I am the perfect choice.
Belabaharr and Tabla Artist Pt. Naviin Gandharv (Born 20 December 1976) A young multi-talented musician who plays the unique instrument ,‘Belabaharr’ which was invented nearly 4 decades ago by Pt. Babulal Gandharv (Naviin`s father ) Belabaharr is one-of-a-kind instrument that merges the principles of Violin , Sarangi and Vocal music .He continues to drive this legacy of with single handed efforts other than playing it differently with new creativity of poetic and aesthetic feel. .Belabaharr is not just a gift to the world of music but also the pride of India. Pt.Naviin is also class distinct Tabla player with equal passion & dexterity which gives listeners a melodic and spiritual bliss developed from years of saadhna, listening and learning from great mentor legendary Ustad Allarakha and many great Maestros whom he is inspired to. Pt.Naviin`s association with great maestros has polished him to be a dynamic & versatile performer only one of its kind.It is said that melody & rhythm is a rare & uncommon combination. But with immense dedication to music Pt.Naviin lived up to his name Pt.Naviin has performed for various musical & other institutions like NCPA, ICCR, Essar Group, Lakme Fashion Week, IMG St. Xavier’s College, Vedic Celebrations, Young String Masters of India for Kanakia Art Foundation, Indus Internationals, Hindustan Times, Sahara India, Celebrate Bandra, Osho, Whistling Woods Intenationals, Adhyatmik Raj Gurukulam, Indor Stadium At, Orrissa, VLCC Events Muscat , IIC India International Centre, Azad Bhavan, Habitat Amphitheatre, JW Marriot Mumbai, Prithvi Theatre, Bhavans Cultural Centre, Art Des Film Centre, Museum Kala Ghoda, Devals Club Kolhapur, Mayo College Ajmer, Bombay Stock Exchange BSE, GSC Goregaon Sports Club, Iyengar Yogsabha, Hongkong Baptist University, Delhi International Arts Festival DIAF, IIT Powai, Upvan Sanskriti Arts Festival, Singhasth Mahakumbh etc. Pt.Naviin has been successful in creating his own audience & fan following all over by single handed efforts popularizing the Belabaharr & also been loyal to the Tabla art. The unique attribute of Pt.Naviin is he is one of the rare artists to be selected by ICCR Indian Council for Cultural Relations in both the solo instruments. Pt Naviin has conducted many lecture demonstrations and workshops of music for Essar Group, Whistling Woods International, Chinmaya mission guiding youngsters who inspired with his music Pt.Naviin has collaborated with many international artists and bands like Mala band UK ,Hangmassive band France, Tetseo Sisters , Avanti Nagral US, Hamed Soraya Iran ,Philip Mescheryakov Russia ,Istevan Jeszenski Hungary ,Falu Shah US , Raimund Imo Germany ,Ignatius Camilo India and many others An all rounded musician known for his versatility, Pt. Naviin performs music that appeals to connoisseurs of Indian classical as well as those drawn to contemporary fusion. He has proven to be a great visionary who has over the years added new dimensions to Indian classical through his highly acclaimed classical band `Anuraaj` that promotes India`s musical heritage to audiences of all age groups, all over the world. `Anuraaj` combines Indian and Western Instruments, infusing creativity in performances curated on the basis of the audience and space. With the strong belief that music breaks barriers, forges bonds and holds the key to a pleasant tomorrow, Pt. Naviin Gandharv remains dedicated to enlightening ,entertaining, educating and presenting his virtuosity to one and all.
Ravi Chary is a professional sitar player based out of the finance capital of India, Mumbai. Originally hailing from Goa, a haven for all things musical, Ravi was destined to be a musician. Late Pt Prabhakar Chari, his father, a noted tabla player and musicologist, introduced him to the possibilities of a life rich in Indian music. He chose the sitar from a plethora of instruments made available to him by his father. Ravi is the first sitarist to have risen from the Goan landscape. His father was undoubtedly his first guru, but his foray into learning the refinements of the sitar began with Ustad Abdul Karim Khan in Goa, following which he came to Mumbai to learn from Ustad Abdul Halim Jaffer Khan. He continues his journey in sitar-dom under the teaching of Ustad Shahid Parvez Khan. The percussion guru, Trilok Gurtu, initiated him into fusion music and Ravi toured with him widely in his early days.
Sweekar Sunil Katti is a professional instrumentalist based out of the finance capital of India, Mumbai. He belongs to Etawah Gharana and follows the Gayaki Ang. His performances are a beautiful mix of contemporary and traditional Indian classical music. Music lovers and critics have appreciated Sweekar’s soulful and electrifying performances widely. He is a master of the Taal rhythm, especially the Laykari, which is something to look out for. Sweekar has performed at many prestigious music festivals in India and abroad. He is always interested in exploring new avenues of music and contribute towards innovative ideas of blending Indian classical and fusion music. Achievements: Received a scholarship from the Ministry of Culture, Government of India, 2009–10 ‘A’ graded artist by All India Radio (AIR) Sweekar’s debut solo classical album, Sur Anant, was released by the legendary Kathak Maestro Pt Birju Maharaj and Begum Parveen Sultana Featured in the list of Young World Leaders by Mosaicque International Magazine Has worked with ace western composer, Prof Sandeep Bhagwati from Germany in his project of exploring Indian music, Dhwani Sutras Has worked with many Bollywood music directors like Pritam, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, and Ustad Taufiq Qureshi to name a few Has been interviewed and played on various Television channels Played Sitar in many ad films for Taj, Askmebazar, etc. Has performed with top musicians of India like Ustad Taufiq Qureshi and Ranjit Barot Has worked on different concepts with various well-known bands like Vaditra, The Ensemble, Surya-The New Sun, and Taal-Matrix Has collaborated with many artists on their private projects and played for various fusion albums and ghazal albums
Purbayan Chatterjee is a professional sitar player based out of Mumbai, Maharashtra. Purbayan has learned sitar from his father and has been playing passionately since his childhood. Inspired by the sound of Pt Nikhil Banerjee, his music combines the contemporary touch with his own urban sensitivity. His music has been internationally appreciated by jazz greats like Bella Fleck, Chick Corea, and Pat Metheney. Purbayan has performed many times with tabla stalwart, Ustad Zakir Hussain. Awards: President of India Award for being the Best Instrumentalist of India Aditya Vikram Birla Award Palm IRAA Award for the Best World Music Album of the Year
Subrata De is a professional sitar player based out of the capital city of West Bengal, Kolkata. One of the most promising names today, Subrata hails from the Bishnupur Gharana. He has not only earned his reputation as a performer but also as a cultural ambassador of India, propagating Indian culture in its purest form all over the world. Subrata also works for cultural exchanges between India and foreign countries through lecture demonstrations, concerts, and facilitating exchange programmes. He is also looked up to by young artists for getting suitable opportunities and mentoring to showcase their talents at appropriate stages. Performances: Yuva Mohatsav 1985 and 1986 in Jamshedpur for Yuva Festival AIR Jamshedpur 1989-94 Awards and Achievements: Recipient of the National Scholarship, 1996 Graded Artist of All India Radio Delhi since 1996 Selected participant for Yuva Mohatsav in 1998 for Delhi Government On the panel of Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) Zonal Cultural Centre (Department Of Culture) Sahitya Kala Parishad ABSS Pune
Mrityunjay Sharma is a professional instrumentalist based out of the capital city of India, New Delhi. Born in 1996, Mrityunjay is a famous composer, singer-songwriter, musician and philanthropist. He began his musical journey at the age of three. He is accredited by Guinness World Records as world’s #1 pianist in the longest piano recital for continuous 127 hours. His school, Junior Model School, had no music classes. Hence, he started playing the harmonium during the school assembly. Later, Mrityunjay assisted his father in cultural programmes, playing the harmonium. Mrityunjay did not have the keyboard, so his father used to arrange rented keyboards for him so that he could explore the instrument of different company brands. In 2006, he was admitted in Sangeet Bhushan, a scholarship-funded, four-year diploma course to provide the core knowledge of Indian classical instrumental music, from Rukmini Devi Lalit Kala Kendra, Pitampura, Delhi. When Mrityunjay was 12 years old, he made debut as a music director in the Ramleela act function in 2008 and continued to give background score every year till 2012. He was excellent in academics and was the topper in 12th standard. Sharma is completing graduation in 2016 from Shri Ram College of Commerce in New Delhi with a degree in commerce. He had wanted to play the harmonium for an uninterrupted stretch of time ever since he was in third grade when he heard about a college student playing the guitar for 66 hours. The dream resurfaced by a chance mention of the Limca Book of Records in 2014. Then he called Sudhanshu Bahuguna, begging him to guide his training sessions for the record attempt. Bahuguna realised the boy was ready and agreed to accept him. That was in March 2014. A year later, Sharma successfully tried for the Limca Records in March 2015 by playing the piano for continuous 52 hours and surpassed the previous national record of 50 hours. His teachers at SRCC chipped in by allowing him to skip classes to practice for Guinness World Records and Limca Book of Records attempts; a 1964 batch alumni, Billy Gupta, gifted him the synthesizer on which he would go on to make both his record attempts; and a classmate gave him a precious Rs 200 to cover the travelling expenses from his college to Bahuguna's Swarnimm Sangeet Mahavidyalaya. Mrityunjay Sharma is a BHEL - Foundation for Academic Excellence and Access scholar. The scholarship covers his expenses of studies, while also providing maintenance allowances and nurturing for his dreams. Being obliged for society, he composed and developed music therapy for autistic children and mass people in March 2016. He has performed across the nation for different organisations, clubs, and collaboration programmes at SRCC including Indo-Korea, Indo-UK, Indo-US, and CII National Conference. Among his favourite performance venues are India Habitat Centre, SRCC auditorium, Hotel Taj, etc. He is working on to bring the fastest pianist title record to India by surpassing the existing world record of most piano-key hits in one minute, which is currently held by Hungarian pianist, Bence Peter. Achievements: Academics Award for scoring top marks in 9th standard, SV, 2009 Yuva Talent Hunt Winner Award, RPVV, 2012 Academics Award for scoring top marks in 12th standard, RPVV, 2013 Special Prize Award for creating national record in Limca Book of Records, SRCC, 2015 Limca Book of Records holder, 2015 Principal Medal Award for Extraordinary achievement, SRCC, 2016 Certificate of Recognition for performance at world’s Longest Piano recital, SRCC, 2016 Guinness World Record holder, 2016
Lakshay Mohan and Aayush Mohan is a professional instrumentalist duo based out of the capital city of India, New Delhi. At Ravi Shankar Centre in 2012, after listening to Aayush and Lakshay, Late Pt Ravi Shankar decided to launch them for their first US tour under his foundation. The tour was materialised in 2015, in which, the two performed at several prestigious music festivals. Lakshay and Aayush happened to be the first Indians to be invited to perform at The Grammy Museum, LA for the opening of the exhibition , 'Ravi Shankar: A Life in Music'. They have learnt the Maihar playing style by Maihar Gharana musicians , Padmabhushan Smt Sharan Rani and Pt Uma Shankar Mishra. They have also learnt under Sarod maestro, Pt Tejendra Narayan Majumdar. He has won the hearts of audiences at many classical music festivals and venues worldwide, like: The Grammy Museum, Los Angeles Learn Quest Music Conference, Boston India Fine Arts Academy, San Diego Thyagaraja Festival, Cleveland The Abbey Theatre, Columbus Performances in India: Delhi Classical Music Festival Saptak Festival, Ahmedabad Gunidas Sangeet Sammelan, Mumbai RIMPA Festival at Ravi Shankar Centre, New Delhi Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, Kolkata Taj Mahotsav, Agra All Bengal Music Conference, Kolkata Ganga Mahotsav, Varanasi Bharat Bhawan, Bhopal Recent albums: The Majestic Court by Times Music Echoes From the Yellow Land by Mystica Music Recently, the two collaborated with Grammy-award winner, Pt Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, for the project , The String Trinity. They were also invited by Ramakrishna Mission of Jaipur, Delhi, Bangalore and Arunachal Pradesh to play at the closing ceremony of Swami Vivekananda's 150th Birth Anniversary Celebrations.
Azeem Ahmed is a professional sitar player based out of the capital city of India, New Delhi. He is the brains behind the Sitar Project. Conceived in 2012, the Sitar Project is a vision of showcasing experimental classical and folk music on an international stage and not limited to a mall elite. The idea is to introduce, explore, and enhance the experience of Indian sitar across different music cultures around the world. The Sitar Project is a world music project with LIVE and recorded performances across India and abroad led by Ustaad Shakir Khan and Maestro Azeem Ahmed Alvi based in Mumbai and Delhi respectively.
SP Ramh is a professional veena artist based out of the capital city of Tamil Nadu, Chennai. He hails from a family of musicians. His maternal grandfather, Sangeetha Bhushanam GN Dhandapani, was a veena artist who was serving All India Radio as a staff artist for more than three decades. His father, Shri R Shankaran, and mother, Shrimathi S Kalyani, are also veena artists. Ramh was inspired to play the veena at a very young age by his father and got his early lessons in veena from his grandfather. Later, at the age of 12, Ramh took to vocal music at the suggestion of his father. Initially, he learnt singing under Shri Sethalapathy Balasubramaniam and Shri Narayanan. Later, he trained under Dr S Ramanathan and Shri S Rajam. Ramh is a regular performer in musical avenues across India. His concerts have won the hearts of music lovers and connoisseurs alike. He is an ‘A’ graded artist in All India Radio for vocal and veena music. Ramh had an extensive tour of the USA and Canada in 1994. He gave recitals in various cities of North America and was the lead singer in the operatic ballet, Jaya Jaya Devi, composed by Shri Lalgudi G Jayaraman. Awards: Yuva Kala Bharathi, 1996 Certificate of Merit for Raaga Elaboration Kalpana Swaras Best Concert Singer
Sanjeev Korti is a professional sitar player based out of the capital city of Karnataka, Bangalore. With over 18 years of sitar training from Ustad Shafique Khan, Sanjeev hails from the Gwalior gharana (school) of music. He is the grandson of Sitar Ratna Rahamat Khan. Sanjeev began his training as a singer but after listening to sitar maestro Ustad Shahid Parvez, a sudden and lasting passion for sitar ignited in him. He plays sitar with both tantrakari and gayaki ang (style). He has played at several concerts, which have been aired on AIR and Doordarshan. Sanjeev has also accompanied several light music and kathak dance programmes. Performed At: Ozora Festival, Hungary 2015 Ordogkatlan Festival, Hungary 2015 Wischod Pienka World Orchestra, Poland 2015 Prague, Czech Republic 2015 Paris, France 2015 Pokhara and Thamel, Kathmandu, Nepal Naada Namana Mantralayam Bharath Nivas Auditorium, Auroville, Pondicherry Sawai Gandharva Mahostav, Kundagol 2011 Hampi Festival 2010 Bangaluru Habba 2012 Navaraspur Festival 2011, Bijapur
Ghatam Giridhar Udupa is a professional ghatam player based out of the IT capital of India, Bangalore. He is one of the leading Indian percussionists in today's time. He has been into music since the tender age of four. He was born into a family of literature and music, while rhythm flows in his blood. His initial guidance was under his father, Ullur Nagendra Udupa, who is a renowned mridangam player. Later, Giridhar Udupa started learning under Vidushi Ghatam Sukanya Ramgopal and Vidwan Ghatam V Suresh. Ghatam is an Indian claypot which produces sound on hitting with palm and fingers. He also plays other South Indian percussion instruments like Mridangam, Kanjira and Morsing. Played with: Sarvashree L Subramaniam M Balamuralikrishna MS Gopalkrishnan RK Srikantan TN Krishnan TK Murthy Palghat Raghu Umayalpuram K Sivaraman AK Palanivel Mysore Nagaraj & Manjunath Ganesh & Kumaresh Mandolin Srinivas N Ramani KJ Yesudas TV Gopalkrishnan TV Sankaranarayanan TN Seshagopalan Jayanthi Kumaresh RK Suryanarayana Kadri Gopalnath Sudha Raghunathan Aruna Sayeeram Apart from performing Carnatic music, Giridhar also performs in many other genres like Hindustani music, jazz, blues, fusion, flamenco, symphony orchestra, Latin music, DJ music, celtic music, world music, Arabic music, Japanese music, Talavadya (percussion ensemble) and Jugalbandhi. He has played at several international music festivals with popular Indian musicians like: Dr L Subramaniam Pandit Jasraj Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma Ustad Amjad Ali Khan Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt Ustad Sultan Khan Pandit Anindo Chatterjee Ustad Fazal Qureshi Pandit Birju Maharaj Sivamani Louis Banks Niladri Kumar Ustad Taufiq Qureshi Selva Ganesh Amit Heri Lucky Ali Kavita Krishnamurti Subramaniam Bikram Ghosh Rahul Sharma Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri Ranjit Barot He has also played with Western musicians: Larry Coryell George Brooks Ernie Watts John Kaizan Neptune Chico Freeman Kai Eckhardt Hubert Laws Corky Siegel Ivry Gitlis Airto Moreira Fritz Renold Lewis Pragasam Orchestras played with: Fairfax Symphony Orchestra (USA) Kwazulu-Natal Philharmonic Orchestra (South Africa) State Philharmonic Orchestra of Sibiu (Romania) Sinfonia Baltica (Poland) Leipzig Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra (Germany) Royal Symphony Orchestra of Oman He is also one of the founder members of 'Layatharanga', a team of Indian classical musicians who embark on making new waves of music by mixing various forms of classical, folk and world music. He has also teamed up with a Poland-based flamenco group called 'Indialucia' and the France-based celtic band 'Nasha'. International Venues Performed at: The Kennedy Centre (Washington DC) Royal Festival Hall (London) Wortham Centre (Houston) Millennium Park (Chicago) Music Academy – Chennai (India) Bangkok Jazz Festival (Bangkok) Miri International Jazz Festival (Malaysia) Ethno Port Poznan Festival (Poland) Lille 3000 (France) Northfolk International Festival (Seattle) The Fifth Cross-Culture – Warsaw Festival (Poland) Flamenco International Festival – Prague (Czech Republic) Swaralaya (Kuwait) Theatre de la Ville and Theatre Guimet – Paris (France) Theatre St Gilles (ReUnion Island) El Violin Festival – La Coruna (Spain) Java Jazz Festival – Jakarta (Indonesia) Rainforest World Music Festival – Sarawak(Malaysia) International Percussion Festival – Krakow (Poland) Countries Performed at: USA UK Canada South Africa Germany The Netherlands Belgium Spain Switzerland France Denmark Poland Czech Republic Luxembourg Romania Indonesia Mauritius Re Union Island Singapore Malaysia Bangkok Dubai Muscat Doha Sri Lanka Bahrain Kuwait Awards: Asthana Vidwan of the Sri Matam of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam (2010) Titled as 'Yuva Kala Bharati' by Bharath Kalachar, Chennai (2004) Titled as 'Vijaya Kalashree' (1997) Titled as 'Yuva Laya Prathibhamani' (2009) Won the Aryabhatta Award (2000) Recipient of Central Govt Scholarship for Ghatam (2002) Won numerous 'Best Percussionist' and 'Best Ghatam Player' titles
20 years experience
Sahana Banerjee is a professional sitar artist based out of Pune, Maharashtra. She belongs to the Khan of Rampur Senia Gharana whose family lineage traces back to Mian Tansen himself. Sahana also received extensive training in vocal music from her illustrious mother, Chhabi Banerjee, daughter of Sangeetacharya Kashinath Chattopadhyay of Sahaswan Gharana. Her unique presentation reflects the traditional Veenkar Dhrupad style of Rampur Senia Gharana maintaining the purity of raga along with her own aesthetical blends of Gayaki. Under the tutelage of her father, she won the Pandit Nikhil Banerjee Challenge Trophy at the Dover Lane Music Conference in 1990 in Kolkata and was conferred the Best instrumentalist Award. Apart from being an A grade artist of All India Radio and Television since 1995, Sahana has also given many prestigious stage performances in India and Europe. Sahana has performed sitar in many occidental music festivals where she performed with famous Italian flautist, Massimo Mercelli. She has worked with a unique project called D'une Rive A'L'utre, where Sahana has performed with Shani Diluka, the celebrated pianist, where they presented the theme, Franz Schubert meets Indian classical music.
Adwait Gadgil is a professional sitar player based out of Pune, Maharashtra. Raised in an illustrious music-loving family, his father (Shri Vivek Gadgil) is a tabla player and disciple of Late Pt Samta Prasadji, Late Pt Madanlal Gangani, and Late Pt Chandrakant Kamat. Adwait was introduced to the world of music by his father at a very tender age of five, from where he began his initial training in vocal music and tabla and learned the intricacies of the Taal – kriya. Realising Adawait’s core interest towards sitar, his father sent him to sitar wizard, Ustad Shahid Parvez of Etawah Gharana, to gain some expertise. Adwait is undergoing rigorous training in sitar with his Ustad for more than 12 years in Gurukul style. Adwait has performed in many major cities across India like Nagpur, Pune, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Allahabad, and Aurangabad. He is one of those rare child prodigies who have done justice to his talent through sheer dint of his commitment. He was awarded the ‘Best Upcoming Instrumentalist’ by the famous Gaanwardhan Sansthan based in Pune in 2010. He was also honourably invited to perform at the ‘Festival of Young Artists’ amongst nine talented upcoming artists of India by Sangeet Sankalpa, Allahabad. No doubt, the future of sitar is in safe hands.
Sitar Jugalbandi is a duet of two sitar players based out of the capital of West Bengal, Kolkata. Surashri Abhishek Adhikary and Smt Murchana Adhikary Barthakur unite themselves through the subtle and very intricate unison of sur and taal in their performances, along with the accompaniment of the percussions, resulting in a melodious and divine musical milieu. The audience is led into a mystical journey to the tune of the artists which give them immense pleasure and satisfaction. This binds the audience to the music of the performers and makes them eager to listen and experience its beauty. They have performed their jugalbandi in various music sammelans and have earned great eminence. Their specialty is that they, both husband and wife, belong to two different musical approaches, presenting together to make a unique combination of the two. The understanding and the dialogues between the two sitars creates a very clear and amazing effect on their listeners.
Suhel Saeed descendant from 11 generations in an unbroken chain of Music. He is one of the leading sitar player exponents from the Dilli Gharana , a musical tradition or "family committed to Hindustani Classical Music famous can come as the famous Dilli Gharana. He is the son & disciple of a sitar maestro Ustad Saeed Zafar Khan. He is a young Sitar player of the Dilli Gharana
Playing sitar from last 35 years
