Dr. Meeta Pandit is a

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 ...

vocalist and a leading exponent of the Gwalior Gharana. She is the granddaughter and disciple of Krishnarao Shankar Pandit and daughter of Laxman Krishnarao Pandit. She is the sixth in the unbroken lineage and the first woman in the family to have taken up music as a profession.

Early life

Meeta was born in New Delhi, India. She is the daughter of Abha Pandit, a homemaker and Pt. Laxman Krishnarao Pandit, a veteran singer of the Gwalior gharana and

Sangeet Natak Akademi Sangeet Natak Akademi (The National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama in English) is the national level academy for performing arts set up by the Government of India. History It was set up by the Indian education ministry on 31 May 1952 and ...

awardee. She spent her childhood in New Delhi, where she attended St. Mary's School until higher secondary, and earned a bachelor's degree in Commerce from Lady Sri Ram College,

Delhi University Delhi University (DU), formally the University of Delhi, is a collegiate central university located in New Delhi, India. It was founded in 1922 by an Act of the Central Legislative Assembly and is recognized as an Institute of Eminence (IoE) ...

. Meeta began training with her grandfather

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...

Pt. Krishnarao Shankar Pandit and her father Pt. L.K Pandit at the age of 3. Growing up in a house where music ustads and her father's disciples visited day in and day out, and all conversations centered around music, she was exposed to the finer aspects of music from a very young age. However, as a teenager, she was encouraged by her parents to take up a more stable profession than music, primarily due to the irregular working hours and solo travels involved, making it a difficult career choice for a woman. Her elder brother Tushar Pandit was in fact, being groomed to take the family legacy forward. He was pursuing a PhD in

Hindustani classical music 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, si ...

when he met with a fatal road accident in New Delhi on 1 September 1994 at the age of 27. Meeta, who was pursuing her bachelor's degree at the time and preparing for an

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

, decided to take up the cudgels of carrying on the legacy and went on to pursue her masters in music. She completed her PhD in the

Hindustani Classical music 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, si ...

by the age of 27.

Career

Meeta gave her first performance on stage at the age of 9, during a 3-day music festival ‘Prasang’ organized by her grandfather, Pt. Krishnarao Shankar Pandit at Bharat Bhawan,

Bhopal Bhopal (; ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and the administrative headquarters of both Bhopal district and Bhopal division. It is known as the ''City of Lakes'' due to its various natural and artificial lakes. It i ...

. At the age of 15, she performed at the Sankat Mochan festival in

Varanasi Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world. * * * * The city has a syncretic t ...

, one of India's biggest annual classical music and dance festival. She has performed at almost all the major classical music festivals of India and abroad which include the prestigious

Sawai Gandharva Bhimsen Festival The Sawai Gandharva Bhimsen Mahotsav (formerly known as the Sawai Gandharva Sangeet Mahotsav and simply known as Sawai) is an annual Indian Classical music festival held in Pune since 1953. The festival is hosted by the Arya Sangeet Prasarak Man ...

in 1999 and 2014, the Dover Lane Music Conference,

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

in 2013 and 2019 and the

Tansen Samaroh Tansen Samaroh or Tansen Sangeet Samaroh () is celebrated every year in the month of December in Behat village of Gwalior district, Madhya Pradesh. It is a 4-day musical extravaganza. Artists and music lovers from all over the world gather here to ...

Gwalior Gwalior() is a major city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh; it lies in northern part of Madhya Pradesh and is one of the Counter-magnet cities. Located south of Delhi, the capital city of India, from Agra and from Bhopal, the s ...

in 2011,2013 and 2019 . MAHOTSAV

Other notable performances : * India International Centre (2011 & 2014) * Nadaneerajanam, as a part of

Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) is an independent trust which manages the temples including the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple in Andhra Pradesh. The trust oversees the operations and finances of the richest and the most visited religious cent ...

WOMADelaide WOMADelaide is an annual four-day festival of Music, Arts and Dance, which was first held in 1992 in Botanic Park, Adelaide, South Australia. One of many WOMAD festivals held around the world, it is a four-day event that presents a diverse selec ...

, New Zealand and Australia *

Melbourne Recital Centre Melbourne Recital Centre is a venue for live music in Melbourne and welcomes over 200,000 visitors each year. The organisation programs and presents more than 500 concerts and events a year across diverse range of musical genres including classi ...

(2015) * Darbar festival, Milton Court Concert Hall, London (2018), United Kingdom * MERU Concert (2012, 2015)

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* Ram Marathe Smruti Sangeet Samaroh,

Thane Thane (; also known as Thana, the official name until 1996) is a metropolitan city in Maharashtra, India. It is situated in the north-eastern portion of the Salsette Island. Thane city is entirely within Thane taluka, one of the seven taluk ...

(2017) * Pt. Jitendra Abhisheki Music Festival,

Kala Academy Kala Academy (Academy of the Arts) is a prominent cultural centre run by the Government of Goa, in Goa, India. Situated at Campal, Panjim Panaji (; also known as Panjim) is the capital of the Indian state of Goa and the headquarters of ...

, Goa * Pancham Group, Satara * Pracheen Kala Kendra,

Chandigarh Chandigarh () is a planned city in India. Chandigarh is bordered by the state of Punjab to the west and the south, and by the state of Haryana to the east. It constitutes the bulk of the Chandigarh Capital Region or Greater Chandigarh, which a ...

(2016) * Bagri Foundation, London (2015) * Ustad Alladiya Khan Sangeet Samaroh,

Chembur Chembur (pronunciation: ͡ʃembuːɾ is an upmarket large suburb in central Mumbai, India. History Before reclamation, Chembur lay on the north-western corner of Trombay Island. It is suggested that Chembur is the same place referred to as Sa ...

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

(2015) * ViViDa Sangeet Sammelan,

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...

(2013) * National Centre for the Performing Arts,

*Swarzankar, Pune * Pt. Sharatchandra Arolkar Smruti Sangeet Samaroh – Khayal Trust,

* Harballabh Sangeet Sammelan,

Jalandhar Jalandhar is the third most-populous city in the Indian state of Punjab and the largest city in Doaba region. Jalandhar lies alongside the Grand Trunk Road and is a well-connected rail and road junction. Jalandhar is northwest of the state ...

, Punjab (1998 and 2015) * Shri Bhaini Sahib, Satguru Jagjit Singh Sangeet Sammelan (2017) * C.R. Vyas Sangeet Samaroh, Vadodara (2015) * Saptak Music Festival, Ahmedabad * Ustad Shaik Dawood Tabla Trust, Hyderabad * Soorya Festival, Trivandrum, Kerala * Krishna Gaan Sabha, Chennai (2013 and 2015) * Delhi Classical Music Festival (2013) * Thumri Festival, Delhi (2017) * West Bengal State Music Academy Music Festival, Kolkata (2017) * Jnana Pravaha Music Festival, Birla Sabhagar, organized by Sangeet Ashram, Kolkata (2011) * Strauss Reflected with David Murphy,

John Suchet John Aleck Suchet ( ; born 29 March 1944) is an English author, television news journalist, and presenter of classical music on Classic FM. Suchet has two brothers, one of whom is the actor Sir David Suchet. Early life Suchet was born in Lon ...

and Sinfonia Verdi at Cadogan Hall, London (2017) * Bharat Sanskriti Yatra, Stein Auditorium, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi * Madhya Pradesh Diwas, organized by the

Government of Madhya Pradesh Government of Madhya Pradesh also known as the State Government of Madhya Pradesh, or locally as the State Government, is the supreme governing authority of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and its 52 districts. It consists of an executive ...

, Bhopal (2018) * 'Aadya', Bharat Bhavan, Bhopal (2017) * ' Swara- Music for Life', organized by Banyan Tree Events, Jaipur (2015) * De Meervaart, Netherlands * Zee Jaipur Literature Festival, Jaipur (2018) * SaMaPa Sangeet Sammelan, New Delhi and

Jammu Jammu is the winter capital of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is the headquarters and the largest city in Jammu district of the union territory. Lying on the banks of the river Tawi, the city of Jammu, with an area of ...

(2015) * 'Sapthak',

Bangalore Bangalore (), List of renamed places in India, officially Bengaluru (), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan area, metropolitan population of a ...

*Akashwani Sangeet Sammelan *Shimla Classical Music Festival *Chowdhury House Music Conference, Kolkata (2019) *INK Conference, Jaisalmer, Rajasthan (2019) *Adab-E-Mausiqui -Patna Literature Festival, Patna, Bihar (2019) * Gala Concert, Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit (SCO), Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan (2019) Meeta Pandit (16685422070)

1995–2000

Between 1995 and 2005, Meeta performed extensively in prestigious festivals in India and abroad in France, Germany, London, Switzerland, Norway,

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, United States, Russia and

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

. Through a special project by French Embassy in New Delhi, she stayed in Paris for three months as an "

Artist in Residence Artist-in-residence, or artist residencies, encompass a wide spectrum of artistic programs which involve a collaboration between artists and hosting organisations, institutions, or communities. They are programs which provide artists with space a ...

" in 2003. There she collaborated with the

Jazz pianist Jazz piano is a collective term for the techniques pianists use when playing jazz. The piano has been an integral part of the jazz idiom since its inception, in both solo and ensemble settings. Its role is multifaceted due largely to the instru ...

, Allie Delfau, as a part of an Indo-French project. She represented India as the Cultural Ambassador of India to Pakistan during the

South Asian Association For Regional Co-Operation The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is the regional intergovernmental organization and geopolitics, geopolitical union of states in South Asia. Its member states are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nep ...

(SAARC) Summit in

Islamabad Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital ...

in 2004. The

Public Service Broadcasting Public broadcasting involves radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing ...

Trust and

Prasar Bharati Prasar Bharati (abbreviated as PB; Hindi: ''Praśar Bharati'', lit. Indian Broadcaster) is India's state-owned public broadcaster, headquartered in New Delhi. It is a statutory autonomous body set up by an Act of Parliament and comprises the ...

made a film titled – "Meeta: Linking a Tradition with Today” – which documents her life and growth as a singer in 2005.

2005–2019

In 2008, Meeta presented a music appreciation series called "Swar Shringar" on World Space Satellite Radio. She collaborated with

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

based

Tabla A tabla, bn, তবলা, prs, طبلا, gu, તબલા, hi, तबला, kn, ತಬಲಾ, ml, തബല, mr, तबला, ne, तबला, or, ତବଲା, ps, طبله, pa, ਤਬਲਾ, ta, தபலா, te, తబల� ...

player, Heiko Dijker on an album called "The Luminance Project". This album was launched in 2012. Since 2009, she has been a consultant with Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, New Delhi, a premier government-funded arts organization in India. Among other things, she is involved in a project archiving more than 60 living maestros representing different

genres Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...

and

gharanas In Hindustani music (North Indian classical music), a ''gharānā'' is a system of social organisation in the Indian subcontinent, linking musicians or dancers by lineage or apprenticeship, and more importantly by adherence to a particular mus ...

. Meeta sings in different genres such as bhajan,

thumri Thumri () is a vocal genre or style of Indian music. The term "thumri" is derived from the Hindi verb ''thumuknaa'', which means "to walk with a dancing gait in such a way that the ankle-bells tinkle." The form is, thus, connected with dance, dr ...

tappa Tappa is a form of Indian semi-classical vocal music. Its specialty is a rolling pace based on fast, subtle and knotty construction. Its tunes are melodious and sweet, and depict the emotional outbursts of a lover. Tappe (plural) were sung mostly by ...

and ghazal and has proved her mastery over khayal and

. She actively promotes Indian Classical music worldwide. She has also been actively coaching budding singers from India and abroad in her attempt to spread Indian Classical Music globally. She often performs for

SPIC MACAY ''Spic'' (also spelled ''spick'') is an ethnic slur used in the United States for people from Latin American countries and states. Etymology Some sources from the United States believe that the word ''spic'' is a play on a Spanish-accented pro ...

in various schools and colleges to ignite an interest of Indian Classical Music in students.

Awards

Before 2005

* The 'Golden Voice of India' by the Singers Society of India – 1989 * 'Sur Mani' by Sur Singar Samsad – 1992 * 'Excellence in Music' Award: by Lady Shri Ram College – 1995 * 'Full Circle Inner Flame Award', Full Circle Publishing Pvt. Ltd, 1999. (Awarded by I.K Gujral) * 'Yuva Ratna' – Youth Excellence Award by Rotaract Club – 1999 * 'Sur Mayank' – Pt. Nikhil Banerjee Smriti Award: Sangeet Bhavan (Lucknow) – 2001 * 'Yuva Ojaswini Award' – 2005 Meeta-pandit0150

2006–2015

* FICCI Young Achiever Award for Indian classical music for 2007. *

Bismillah Khan Bismillah Khan (born Amaruddin Khan, 21 March 1916 – 21 August 2006), often referred to by the title ''Ustad'', was an Indian musician credited with popularizing the shehnai, a reeded woodwind instrument. While the shehnai had long held imp ...

Award by

Sangeet Natak Academy Sangeet Natak Akademi (The National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama in English) is the national level academy for performing arts set up by the Government of India. History It was set up by the Indian education ministry on 31 May 1952 and be ...

for 2007 * Delhi Ratna – Art and Cultural Trust of India – 2009 * Art Karat Award for her contribution to the field of music – 2013 * SaMaPa Yuva Ratna award for contribution to Classical Music – 2015 * Bhav Bhaveshwar Rashtriya Samman −2015 * JP Award −2017, instituted by the Loknayak Jaiprakash International Studies Centre, New Delhi.

Discography

* Raga Rang ( Saregama) * Arpan ( Underscore Records) * Young Maestros ( Underscore Records and

Musictoday Musictoday is an entertainment marketing company located in Crozet, Virginia, near Charlottesville. It was founded and run by Coran Capshaw, the manager of Dave Matthews Band. Musictoday is a pioneer in pre sales of concert tickets, by starting ...

) * The Luminance Project (

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...

Virgin) * Gharana Aur Parampara (Gwalior Gharana) – Vol 1 (

Prasar Bharti Prasar Bharati (abbreviated as PB; Hindi: ''Praśar Bharati'', lit. Indian Broadcaster) is India's state-owned public broadcaster, headquartered in New Delhi. It is a statutory autonomous body set up by an Act of Parliament and comprises the ...

and Doordarshan) * Gharana Aur Parampara (Gwalior Gharana) – Vol 2 (

and Doordarshan)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pandit, Meeta 1974 births Living people Indian women classical singers Women musicians from Delhi Singers from Delhi 20th-century Indian singers 20th-century Indian women singers 21st-century Indian singers 21st-century Indian women singers