Jnan Prakash Ghosh | |
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Birth name | Jnan Prakash Ghosh |
Born | 8 May 1909 |
Origin | Kolkata, India |
Died | 1997 (aged 87–88) (aged 88) |
Genres | Hindustani Classical Music |
Occupation(s) | Tabla player, musicologist |
Instruments | Vocals, Tabla, Harmonium |
Jnan Prakash Ghosh (8 May 1909 – 18 February 1997) often known as 'Guru' Jnan Prakash Ghosh was an Indian harmonium and tabla player from Farukhabad gharana of Hindustani classical music and musicologist.
Born in a Hindu family with musical background in Kolkata. He was the grandson of Dwarkanath Ghose (1847–1928), who founded Dwarkin in 1875 and invented the "Dwarkin harmonium", popular in West Bengal, India. He graduated from the Scottish Church College of the University of Calcutta He was keen in sports (he played soccer, hockey, polo and billiards). He also practised painting, but had to discontinue these due to an eye injury in a soccer match.
Then he turned to music. He was trained in vocals by Girija Shankar, Mohammed Sagir Khan and Mohammed Dabir Khan. He took tabla lessons from Ustad Masit Khan of the Farukhabad gharana and became his senior disciple and later from Ustad Feroze Khan of the Punjab gharana.
He worked for 15 years in All India Radio as a producer of music. He wrote pieces in classical music, light music, modern, orchestral, choral, and percussion styles.
He was the founder of Sourav Academy of Music and closely associated with the 'Sangeet Research Academy'. He scored music for many Bengali films, Jadubhatta, Andhare Alo and Rajlakshmi o Srikanta (1958) are worth mentioning. He has composed and directed music to a number of popular gramophone records sung by various artistes. A percussion entitled The Drums of India and a jugalbandi with Pandit V.G. Jog on the harmonium and violin respectively have earned him wide popularity. One of his compositions was called Chaturang – involving tabla, pakhawaj, kathak and tarana. He would instruct disciples staying with him to practice late into the evenings and it is said that he would correct any errors that reached his ears.