Kumar Bose

Kumar Bose is one of the leading tabla players of the Banaras gharana. In 2026 he was named for the Padma Shri in the field of art, from West Bengal ^[1].

Two teachers

Bose was born on 4 April 1954 into a family of musicians ^[2]. He trained first under his father, the tabla player Biswanath Bose, and then under Kishan Maharaj, one of the great Banaras masters of the twentieth century ^[2]. From them he learned both technique and the gharana’s balance of complexity and grace ^[2].

Accompanist and soloist

Bose has accompanied many of India’s leading singers and instrumentalists on stages around the world ^[2]. Musicians value him for listening closely to the raga and the rhythm, and his solos are known for traditional forms such as peshkar, kayda, rela, gat and tukra ^[2].

Teacher

He has trained generations of tabla players, mixing the guru–shishya method with structured teaching, and many of his students now perform and teach around the world ^[2]. He has worked to pass on rare compositions of the Banaras gharana ^[2].

He is a top-grade artist of All India Radio and has received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Puraskar ^[2].