Samta prasad born

Zakir hussain
Samta Prasad was an Indian classical musician and tabla player from the Benares gharana.
Pandit Samta Prasad was an Indian classical musician and Tabla player from the Benares gharana.

•

Indian Claasical Music – Tabla Maestro of Benaras Gharana late Pandit Samta Prasad also known as ‘Gudai Maharaj’. He was born at 20^th July in the year 1921 in the Kabir Chaura, Varanasi, UP and died in the May, 1994 at his Kabir Chaura residence. His father, Pandit Hari Sunder (also known as the Bacha Mishra), grandfather Pt. Jagannath Mishra and one of his ancestors Pandit Pratap Maharaj were also related to the Indian classical music. He learned the traditional tabla playing and pakhawaj of the Benaras gharana from his father and grandfather. He lost his father at his 7. After that, he became the disciple of the Pt. Bikku Maharaj (disciple of the Pt. Baldev Sahai) and started practicing daily for long hours.

He had performed the first time at the Allahabad Sangeet Sammelan in the year 1942. Other musicians available there were very impressed with his great performance. After his first performance, he established himself soon as an accompanist and soloist. He got the better chance to perform his classical music in the different cities of the India like Kol

•

Pt. Samta Prasad

Born in Kabir Chaura (Benares) into a family steeped in the tradition of Table and Pakhawaj of Benaras gharana, sometimes referred as Poorab baaj school, Pandit Samta Prasad was an Indian classical musician and Tabla player from the Benares gharana. He also played tabla in many Hindi films, and film music composer Rahul Dev Burman was one of his disciples. He was the son of Pandit Hari Sunder, also known as Bacha Mishra, and grandson of Pt. Jagannath Mishra. His ancestors include Pt. Pratap Maharaj also known as Gudai Maharaj. His preliminary taalim (training) started from his father, who died when Samta was seven. Thereafter, he took the discipleship of Pt. Bikku Maharaj, himself a disciple of Pt. Baldev Sahai and began to practise for long hours daily. His first major performance was at the Allahabad Sangeet Sammelan in 1942, where he impressed the musicians present there and soon established himself as a accompanist as well as a soloist. Throughout his career he performed in various parts of India, like Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai, Lucknow, etc., and also represe

•

The tabla baj that is today associated with the city of Benares was developed over two hundred years ago by the legendary Pandit Ram Sahai. A child prodigy in his native city, he became a disciple of Ustad Modhu Khan (grandson of Sidhar Khan of Delhi) a musician in the royal court of Nawab Asafuddaula in Lucknow. During his twelve year apprenticeship with Modhu Khan, Ram Sahai amassed a prodigious repertoire of compositions and mastered the art of improvised elaborations on a given theme. When he was 21 years of age he made his debut performance at the court of Nawab Wazir Ali and accomplished the astounding feat of playing a tabla solo which continued uninterrupted for seven consecutive nights without reptition of a single piece.

In the middle of his career Ram Sahai retired from public life and turned his attention to the creation of a new style of tabla playing. Through major changes in the position of the hand on the drum and a more efficient use of the fingers he increased the tabla’s range of tone and dynamics. In addition to composing numerous pieces in the existing forms