Pandit Shivnath Mishra (born 12 October 1943) is an Indian

sitarist The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in medieval India, flourished in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form in ...

. He is an exponent of the Benares Gharana school of

Indian classical music Indian classical music is the classical music of the Indian subcontinent. It has two major traditions: the North Indian classical music known as '' Hindustani'' and the South Indian expression known as '' Carnatic''. These traditions were not ...

. He was formerly a lecturer and the Head of the Music Department at the

Sampurnanand Sanskrit University Sampurnanand Sanskrit Vishwavidyalaya (IAST: ; formerly Varanaseya Sanskrit Vishwavidyalaya and Government Sanskrit College, Varanasi) is an Indian university and institution of higher learning located in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, specializing i ...

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 ...

Early life

Shivnath Mishra was born in 1943 in

Benares 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 tr ...

, United Provinces,

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

into a family of professional musicians. He is the 10th generation of the prominent Benares Gharana lineage. He studied under his father, Badri Prasad Mishra and uncle Mahadev Prasad Mishra. However, when he was eight his musical inclination led him to study the sitar.

Musical career

In 1967, Mishra won the prestigious

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 a ...

competition held at Allahabad. This was followed by a gold medal at the All India Music Conference in Calcutta in 1967. Mishra has played at several prestigious music festivals including Sangeet Natak Academy in 1993. He has played many times in Ganga Mahotsav Cultural Program organized by the

Government of Uttar Pradesh The Government of Uttar Pradesh (ISO: Uttar Pradesh Sarkār; often abbreviated as GoUP) is the subnational government of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh with the governor as its appointed constitutional head of the state by the President of I ...

. He is a prominent 'A' class Artist in

. Shivnath Mishra, his son Deobrat, and various other members of the Mishra-Maharaj family were featured in the 2011 British

ITV1 ITV1 (formerly known as ITV) is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the British media company ITV plc. It provides the Channel 3 public broadcast service across all of the United Kingdom except for t ...

documentary ''A Passage Through India'', narrated by Caroline Quentin. Mishra has toured extensively internationally including to Italy, Germany, Frace, Belgium, Holland, Japan, Switzerlad, Austria, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Canada and the US. Mr. Mishra is known for supporting social movements through his music. He has organized several charity events to support social organizations. In January 2009 he organized a concert at his own academy in Varanasi as a tribute to the victims of 2008 Mumbai attacks. On 12 June 2012 Mr. Mishra organized another huge event to support Ganga Seva Abhiyanam's fight to protect the purity and sanctity of the river Ganges.

Discography

* Sound of Sitar * Soul of Sitar * Sitar Jugalbandi: Live in Milan * Raag Desh: Monsoon Raga (2002) * Joy (2003) * Raga Cycle (2004) * Rare Instruments: Surbahar - Pandit Shivnath & Deobrat Mihsra (ASA Music)

Awards and accolades

* Shivnath Mishra was awarded the title of

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, ...

in 2022. He is the only Sitar player from Varanasi to have received Padma Shri Award after

Ravi Shankar Ravi Shankar (; born Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury, sometimes spelled as Rabindra Shankar Chowdhury; 7 April 1920 – 11 December 2012) was an Indian sitarist and composer. A sitar virtuoso, he became the world's best-known export of North Ind ...

* Shivnath Mishra was awarded the UP Sangeet Natak Academy Award in 2004. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uttar_Pradesh_Sangeet_Natak_Akademi_Award

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mishra, Shivnath Indian male composers Sitar players 1943 births Living people Musicians from Varanasi Hindustani composers 20th-century Indian composers Indian music educators 20th-century male musicians