Monday, August 12, 2013
PANDIT KISHAN MAHARAJ (September 3, 1923 – May 4, 2008) was an Indian tabla player
who belonged to the Benares gharana of Hindustani classical
music.
Kishan Maharaj was born in Kabir Chaura, Benaras into
a family of professional musicians. He was initially trained in classical
music by his father,Hari Maharaj. After his father's death, his training was
taken over by his uncle, Kanthe Maharaj, a disciple of Baldeo Sahai of the Benares
gharana.
Kishan Maharaj, by the time he was eleven, he began performing
in concerts. Within a few years, Kishan Maharaj was sharing the stage with
stalwarts like Faiyaz Khan, Omkarnath Thakur, Bade
Ghulam Ali Khan, Bhimsen Joshi, Ravi Shankar, Ali
Akbar Khan, Vilayat Khan, Girija Devi, Sitara
Devi and many others.
Maharaj had the ability to play cross-rhythms and produce
complex calculations, particularly in tihai patterns.
Known as an excellent accompanist, Maharaj was extremely versatile and capable
of playing with any accompaniment, be it with the Sitar,Sarod, Dhrupad, Dhamar or
even dance.
Maharaj gave a number of solo concerts during his career and
also gave `Sangat` to some great dancers like Sri Shambhu Maharaj, Sitara
Devi, Natraj Gopi Krishna, and Birju
Maharaj.
Among all his compositions, his "Tala Vadya Kacheri"
with the Mridangam Vidwan, "Palghat Raghu" stood out. Maharaj
extensively toured and participated in several prestigious events across the
world, including the Edinburgh festival and
the Commonwealth Arts festival in the United Kingdom in
1965.
Maharaj won the Padma Shri in
1973 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2002. For many years, he was
married to Savita Devi, daughter of Siddheshwari Devi.
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