Samta Prasad (Hindi : पण्डित सामता प्रसाद; 20 July 1921 – 31 May 1994) was an

Indian classical music Indian classical music is the art music, classical music of the Indian subcontinent. It is generally described using terms like ''Shastriya Sangeet'' and ''Marg Sangeet''. It has two major traditions: the North Indian classical music known as ...

ian and

tabla A ''tabla'' is a pair of hand drums from the Indian subcontinent. Since the 18th century, it has been the principal percussion instrument in Hindustani classical music, where it may be played solo, as an accompaniment with other instruments a ...

player from the Benares gharana. He played tabla in many Hindi films including, ''Meri Surat Teri Ankhen'' (1963) and ''

Sholay ''Sholay'' (, ) is a 1975 Indian epic action-adventure film directed by Ramesh Sippy, produced by his father G. P. Sippy, and written by Salim–Javed. The film is about two criminals, Veeru (Dharmendra) and Jai (Amitabh Bachchan), hired ...

'' (1975), and film music composers Rahul Dev Burman and

Bappi Lahiri Bappi Aparesh Lahiri (born Alokesh Aparesh Lahiri; 27 November 1952 – 15 February 2022), also known as Bappi Da, was an Indian singer, composer and record producer. He popularised the use of synthesised disco music in Indian music industry and ...

were his disciples. He was the son of Hari Sundarrr, also known as Bachaa Mishra, his grandfather was Jagannath Mishra, and his ancestors included Pratap Maharaj, also known as Gudai Maharaj. He was awarded the

Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (IAST: Saṅgīta Nāṭaka Akādamī Puraskāra), also known as the Akademi Puraskar, is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy of Music, Dance & Drama. It is the highest Indian recogni ...

in 1979, given by the

Sangeet Natak Akademi Sangeet Natak Akademi (The National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama in English language, English) is the national level academy for performing arts set up by the Government of India. It is an autonomous body of the Ministry of Culture (India) ...

, India's National Academy of Music, Dance & Drama and the

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan (IAST: ''Padma Bhūṣaṇa'', lit. 'Lotus Decoration') 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 Januar ...

, the third highest civilian honour given by Govt. of India in 1991.

Early life and training

Pandit Samta Prasad was born on 20 July 1921, in

Kabir chaura Kabir Chaura is a locality in Varanasi, India. It is known as the place where the great mystic poet and saint Kabir grew up. The word 'Chaura' is a distortion of 'Chauraha', literally meaning a four-way crossing (''chau'' meaning "four"; ''rah ...

, Banaras (

Varanasi Varanasi (, also Benares, Banaras ) or 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 tradition of I ...

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

into a family steeped in the tradition of

and pakhawaj of Benaras gharana, sometimes referred as ''Poorab baaj'' school. His preliminary ''taalim'' (training) began with his father, who died when Samta Prasad Ji was just seven. Thereafter, he took the discipleship of Bikku Maharaj, himself a disciple of Baldev Sahai, and began to practice for long hours daily.Pandit Samta Prasad Biography

Career

Pt. Samta Prasad gave his first major performance at the "

Allahabad Prayagraj (, ; ISO 15919, ISO: ), formerly and colloquially known as Allahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi, Varanasi (Benar ...

Sangeet Sammelan" in 1942, where he impressed the musicians present there, and soon established himself as an accompanist as well as a soloist. Throughout his career, he performed in various parts of India, such as

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

and

Lucknow Lucknow () is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the largest city of the List of state and union territory capitals in India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is the administrative headquarters of the epon ...

. He also represented the Indian cultural team while abroad, in such places as France, Russia and

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

. He also played the

Hindi films Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Hollywood". The industry, producing films in th ...

like, '' Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baje'', '' Meri Surat Teri Ankhen'', '' Basant Bahar'', ''Asamapta'' and ''

''. It is believed that music director, S.D. Burman postponed the recording of the song, ''"Nache mora manwa magan tikta dhighi dhighi"'' being sung by Mohd. Rafi in the film ''Meri Surat Teri Aakhen'' until the arrival of Pandit Samta Prasad from Banaras. He died in May 1994 in Pune, India. He was on a visit to Pune to conduct a coaching workshop organized by Naad Roop. The workshop was a success, but Panditji's unexpected demise left a permanent scar on the minds of those who attended the workshop.

Awards and recognitions

He was awarded "

Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), 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. In ...

" in the year 1972, and received the "

" in 1979 and the President Scholarship in 1987. He achieved the

in 1991.

Disciples

Amongst his noted disciples are Pandit Bhola Prasad Singh, Patna, Pandit Shashanka Shekhar Bakshi, Nitin Chatterjee, Naba Kumar Panda, Rahul Dev Burman (R.D.Burman, Gurmit Singh Virdee, Partha Sarathi Mukherjee, Satyanarayan Bashisht, (Late) Pandit Chandrakant Kamat, Pt. Manikrao Popatkar and Pt. Samta Prasad's son - (Late) Pandit Kumar Lal Mishra who died recently, a noted tabla player himself. Famous composer Bappi Lahiri was his disciple too.

References

12. ^ Life history of th
Pandit Gudai Maharaj

External links

Shanta Prasad Profile
at Last.fm
Benares Tabla Gharana
;Video links * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Prasad, Shanta 1921 births 1994 deaths 20th-century Indian male classical singers Hindustani instrumentalists Indian percussionists Tabla players Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in arts Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Musicians from Varanasi 20th-century drummers