NIKHIL GHOSH (1919-1995) Aneesh Pradhan
NIKHIL GHOSH (1919-1995) Aneesh Pradhan
NIKHIL GHOSH (1919-1995) Aneesh Pradhan
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
<strong>NIKHIL</strong> <strong>GHOSH</strong> (<strong>1919</strong>-<strong>1995</strong>)<br />
by<br />
<strong>Aneesh</strong> <strong>Pradhan</strong><br />
In-depth training and a rich repertoire are two of the many essential<br />
prerequisites that are demanded of a serious practitioner of Hindustani music.<br />
Tabla maestro Nikhil Ghosh had the distinction of being a recipient of both, thus<br />
making him a repository of traditional tabla solo compositions from the Delhi,<br />
Ajrada, Lucknow, Farrukhabad and Punjab gharanas. This inheritance was<br />
largely because of his tutelage under three gurus, namely, Gyan Prakash Ghosh,<br />
Amir Hussein Khan and Ahmed Jan Thirakwa. Among the three, Gyan Prakash<br />
Ghosh had studied under Maseet Khan and Feroze Khan, Amir Hussein Khan<br />
had learnt from his maternal uncle Munir Khan, and Ahmed Jan Thirakwa had<br />
been a disciple of Munir Khan, though he had also learnt from his uncles. To go<br />
further into the past, Munir Khan was said to have learnt from twenty-four<br />
gurus following the major styles of tabla playing. This legacy was handed down<br />
to Nikhil Ghosh by his gurus over several years of training.<br />
Nikhil Ghosh did not come from a family of musicians, but his father and<br />
grandfather had studied music. It was however his elder brother Pannalal<br />
Ghosh, who first took up music as a professional pursuit. Known for his<br />
contribution to bringing the bansuri (bamboo flute) to centrestage in Hindustani<br />
music, Pannalal Ghosh was accompanied in several concerts and recordings by<br />
Nikhil Ghosh. Having had an exposure to raag music since as early age, Nikhil<br />
Ghosh also learnt vocal music. This passion for the melodic aspect of Hindustani<br />
music remained with him forever more, leading him to befriend vocalists and<br />
instrumentalists and to acquire traditional vocal compositions from leading<br />
senior vocalists.<br />
However, it was the tabla that he focused on and went on to accompany a host of<br />
vocalists and instrumentalists. His solos were marked by an emphasis on<br />
traditional compositions and an adherence to the spirit and structural framework<br />
of the taal. For him, mathematics played a secondary role, as he laid greater<br />
stress on the language of the instrument presented through various<br />
compositions. He freely employed dynamics in his solos and accompaniment,<br />
often lending a dramatic element to the performance. He was equally open to<br />
experimenting with presentation, as is evident from his handling of the<br />
repertoire or even the manner of producing melody from the bayan (bass drum).<br />
Nikhil Ghosh also had a brief stint as Assistant Music Director for Hindi feature<br />
films and had composed songs for non-film commercial recordings.
His tabla solo was released by His Master’s Voice and his accompaniment to<br />
vocal and instrumental music was also featured on some commercial recordings.<br />
He was also a regular broadcaster on All India Radio<br />
Parallel to his professional commitment, Nikhil Ghosh was also an educationist.<br />
In fact, he focused more on this aspect in the later years of his life. He<br />
established a school for music and dance called Sangit Mahabharati, where<br />
music was notated as per a system devised by him. This system addressed in<br />
particular the specific needs of instrumental music and is explained in his book<br />
entitled Fundamentals of Raga and Tala with a New System of Notation.<br />
Nikhil Ghosh was awarded the Padma Bhushan by the Government of India for<br />
his contribution to the field of Hindustani music.<br />
Among his disciples are his children Nayan Ghosh, Dhruba Ghosh, Tulika<br />
Ghosh and others like Eknath Pimple, Datta Yande, Karodilal Bhatt, <strong>Aneesh</strong><br />
<strong>Pradhan</strong>, Gert Wegner and Keith Manning.