A. Kanan / Arkut Kannabhiran (18 June 1920 – 12 September 2004), more popularly known as A. Kanan, was an Indian vocalist in the

Hindustani classical Hindustani classical music is the classical music of northern regions of the Indian subcontinent. It may also be called North Indian classical music or, in Hindustani, ''shastriya sangeet'' (). It is played in instruments like the violin, sita ...

tradition and one of the legendary vocalist from

Kirana Gharana Kirana gharana is one of the Indian classical khyal gharanas, and is concerned foremost with perfect intonation of notes (swara). Singing style The central concern of the Kirana style is swara, or individual notes, in particular precise tunin ...

. He is known for the khayal form of singing to which he lent his individuality.

Early life

Arkut Kannabhiran was born in Madras (present-day Chennai), in 1920. As he grew up he was interested in cricket as well as singing. He began his professional career joining the railways at the age of 18. In his 20s, while in Bombay (present-day Mumbai) for a cricket match, he auditioned for the

All India Radio All or ALL may refer to: Language * All, an indefinite pronoun in English * All, one of the English determiners * Allar language (ISO 639-3 code) * Allative case (abbreviated ALL) Music * All (band), an American punk rock band * ''All'' (All ...

station there. The auditioners were so impressed by his singing voice that they offered him a slot of air time. His job saw him posted at Hyderabad and here he began taking lessons in Hindustani classical music from Pandit Lahanu Babu Rao. Shortly after, he got transferred to Calcutta (now Kolkata) where he studied music with Girija Shankar Chakraborty. Subsequently, when his job required his transfer from Kolkata, he left the job and stayed on in the city. He later came in contact with the musician Amir Khan.

Career

Arkut Kannabhiran made his formal debut in the world of Hindustani style of classical vocal music in 1943, when he performed at the All Bengal Music Conference in Kolkata. It was during his stay at Calcutta that he earned a name for himself by his melodious voice and a very personal style of gayaki that he developed. With his enormous acclaim he came to be better known as Pandit A.T. Kanan. Today few will remember Kanan by his original name. Kanan went on to become a regular on the

and was counted among top graded artists. His khayal renditions in Raga Jog, Rageshri, Bihag and Hansadhwani were popular all across the country. The acclaimed Bengali filmmaker

Ritwik Ghatak Ritwik Kumar Ghatak (; 4 November 19256 February 1976) was a noted Indian film director, screenwriter, and playwright. Along with prominent contemporary Bengali filmmakers Satyajit Ray, Tapan Sinha and Mrinal Sen, his cinema is primarily rememb ...

used his fast khayal "Laagi Lagan Pati Sakhi Sang" set in Raga Hansadhwani in his classic film Meghe Dhaka Tara. Today not many of Kanan's recordings survive. But he will be always remembered for the master performance he gave for the film. In the 1950s, along with other musicians, Kanan founded the Calcutta Music Circle. Several young students had the opportunity of learning Hindustani classical music from him and went on to make names for themselves in later lives. He was a Guru at

ITC Sangeet Research Academy ITC Sangeet Research Academy is a Hindustani classical music academy run by the corporate house, ITC Ltd. It is located in Kolkata, India. Noted musicians associated with the academy include Ulhas Kashalkar, Falguni Mitra, Ajoy Chakrabarty, U ...

Personal life

He was married to Malabika Kanan, another acclaimed Hindustani vocalist of the time.

Death

Arkut Kannabhiran died in 2004, aged 84, at Kolkata.

References

{{Authority control Hindustani singers Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Indian classical musicians of Bengal 1920 births 2004 deaths 20th-century Khyal singers 20th-century Indian male singers 20th-century Indian singers Musicians from Kolkata Musicians from Chennai