Legendary tabla player Pandit Shankar Ghosh passed away in Kolkata, West Bengal following a prolonged illness. He was 80.
He was amongst the most well-known tabla players in the country and followed the Farukhabad gharana of Hindustani classical music.
About Pandit Shankar Ghosh
- He had started learning training taleem in 1953 under the guidance of legendary Pandit Gyan Prakash Ghosh
- Having learnt from exponents belonging to different gharanas or schools of music, Ghosh was able to create a unique style of playing which is followed by his students, many of them prominent names of the of the music world now.
- He had performed with vocalists such as Pandit Omkarnath Thakur, Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Girija Devi, Pandit Vinayakrao Patwardhan and Akhtari Bai.
- A recipient of the prestigious Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1999-2000, Ghosh had taken forward the concept of tabla ensembles large number of tabla players showcasing their talent together.
- He also received the ITC Sangeet Research Academy award and the Ustad Hafiz Ali Khan award.
- He had earned rave reviews for his ‘jugalbandi’ performances with celebrated classical musicians like Ustad Vilayat Khan, sitarists Pandit Ravi Shankar and violinist Pandit VG Jog.
- At international level, he had collaborated with artists like Pete Lockett, Greg Ellis and John Bergamo.