Shamta Prasad

Samta Prasad
Samta Prasad accompanying sitar player Shahid Parvez Khan
Background information
Birth name	Samta Prasad Mishra
Also known as	Gudai Maharaj
Born	(1921-07-20)20 July 1921
Origin	Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh
Died	1994 (aged 73)
Genres	Indian classical music
Instruments	Tabla

Pandit Samta Prasad (20 July 1921 – 1994) was an Indian classical musician and tabla player from the Benares gharana. He played tabla in many Hindi films including, Meri Surat Teri Ankhen (1963) and Sholay (1975), and film music composer Rahul Dev Burman was one of his disciples.

He was the son of Pandit Hari Sunder, also known as Bacha Mishra, his grandfather was Pt. Jagannath Mishra, and his ancestors included Pt. Pratap Maharaj, also known as Gudai Maharaj.

He was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1979, given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy of Music, Dance & Drama and the Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian honour given by Govt. of India in 1991.

Pandit Samta Prasad was born on 20 July 1921, in Kabir chaura, Banaras (Varanasi), Uttar Pradesh into a family steeped in the tradition of tabla and pakhawaj of Benaras gharana, sometimes referred as Poorab baaj school.

His preliminary taalim (training) began with his father, who died when Samta was seven. Thereafter, he took the discipleship of Pt. Bikku Maharaj, himself a disciple of Pt. Baldev Sahai, and began to practise for long hours daily.

Samta Prasad gave his first major performance at the "Allahabad 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, Mumbai, Chennai and Lucknow. He also represented the Indian cultural team while abroad, in such places as France, Russia and Edinburgh. He has performed many times with the renowned sarode player Abanindra Maitra.