Nandan Mehta (26 February 1942 – 26 March 2010) was an Indian

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 and music teacher from Ahmedabad who belonged to the Benaras Gharana of

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 ...

. He established

Saptak School of Music The Saptak School of Music is a major classical music and performing arts education institution in Ahmedabad, India. Nandan Mehta established this institution and started Saptak Annual Festival of Music in 1980. See also * Saptak Annual Festival ...

and started Saptak Annual Festival of Music in 1980.

Early life

Nandan Mehta was born on 26 February 1942 to Yashodhar Mehta, a writer and lawyer, and Vasumati, a painter and daughter of Sir Chinubhai Baronet. His grandfather Narmadashanker Mehta was a reputed

Vedanta ''Vedanta'' (; sa, वेदान्त, ), also ''Uttara Mīmāṃsā'', is one of the six (''āstika'') schools of Hindu philosophy. Literally meaning "end of the Vedas", Vedanta reflects ideas that emerged from, or were aligned with, t ...

scholar. He was trained under

Kishan Maharaj Pandit Kishan Maharaj (3 September 1923 – 4 May 2008) was an Indian tabla player who belonged to the Benares gharana of Hindustani classical music. Early life and background Kishan Maharaj ji was born in Kabir Chaura, Benaras into a family ...

and was a

exponent of the Banaras Gharana. He introduced Banaras Gharana to Gujarat.

Musical career

He was a Senior A Grade artist of

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 ...

and Doordarshan. His performances won him acclaim. He performed extensively across the country and participated in the AIR National Programmes as well as the Akashvani Sangeet Sammelan. He also served to AIR on their Staff Selection Committee, Ahmedabad and also served on their Music Audition Board. He established

and started Saptak Annual Festival of Music in 1980.

Death

Nandan Mehta succumbed to oral cancer on 26 March 2010. His wife,

Manju Mehta Manju is a Sanskrit word meaning pleasant, sweet, snow, beautiful, clouds, morning dew and is predominantly an Indian female given name. * Manju Kak, a Kashmiri wri ...

is a sitar player and his two daughters, Poorvi Mehta, a sitar player and Hetal Mehta, a tabla player. The gallery dedicated to his life and the Saptak Annual Festival of Music was opened in Ahmedabad in 2012.

Recognition

He was honoured by

Pandit Jasraj Pandit Jasraj (28 January 1930 – 17 August 2020) was an Indian classical vocalist, belonging to the '' Mewati gharana'' (musical apprenticeship lineage). His musical career spanned 75 years resulting in national and international fame ...

twice (1997 and 2002) on behalf of the Mewati Gharana and was conferred the title of 'Tal Rasik Var'. "Sankalp" central body at Kurukshetra conferred on him the title of 'Sangeet Rushi' in the year 1996. Kumar Club Shastriya Group Ahmedabad also honoured him for rendering outstanding services to the field of classical music. He has been awarded the prestigious 'Gaurav Puraskar' by the Gujarat Sangeet Natak Academy for his outstanding contribution in the field of music in the year 1988. He was also honoured on 'Vishwa Rang – Bhoomi day' for his contribution in the field of music in

Vadodara Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is the second largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district and is situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River, from the state capita ...

, and by the Medical Association in Ahmedabad. Swar Sadhana Samiti, Mumbai, awarded him 'Swar Sadhana Ratna' in the year 2004. He was also honoured by 'Kala Gurjari' Bhavnagar, Sangeet Kala Niketan, Jaipur. He was also honored by Madhuvan, Bhopal for his contribution in the field of music in the year 2005. He was conferred the title 'Shreshth kala Acharya'. Dr.H.L.Trivedi, Director, Kidney Institute has also honoured him for rendering outstanding services in the field of Classical music and conferred the title 'Bhagwan Mahavir Karuna Sewa Sanman' in 2007. He was awarded "Sangeet Ratna Chudamani" by Divya Jivan Sangh Shivanand Ashram Ahmedabad in 2008 by Naval Kishore Sharma, Governor of Gujarat. He was awarded Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2007.

References

External links

Saptak
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mehta, Nandan 1942 births 2010 deaths Musicians from Ahmedabad Tabla players Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award 20th-century Indian male classical singers