Ronu Majumdar
A bansuri maestro of the Maihar gharana, Grammy-nominated, who led a Guinness-record concert of 5,378 flautists, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2025.
Pandit Ronu Majumdar has helped make the bansuri, the bamboo flute, popular with a new generation of listeners around the world. In 2025 he was named for the Padma Shri in the field of art, from Maharashtra [1].
Training
Ranendra Bhanu “Ronu” Majumdar was born on 28 July 1965 [2]. He learned the flute from his father, Dr Bhanu Majumdar, from Pandit Lakshman Prasad Jaipurwale and from Pandit Vijay Raghav Rao, and also received guidance from Pandit Ravi Shankar [2]. He belongs to the Maihar gharana, and his playing blends the grandeur of dhrupad singing with rhythmic play [2].
Records and recordings
He has also worked in contemporary music, earning a Grammy nomination in 1996 [2]. He conducted Venu Naad, a concert of 5,378 flautists on one stage, which is in the Guinness World Records [2]. In December 2024, his composition Samved was played by a 546-member Hindustani classical band at the Tansen festival in Gwalior, another Guinness record [2]. He composed the music for India’s first IMAX film, Mystic India [2].
He received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for 2014, and the Films Division made a documentary about him, Bansuriwala [2].
Sources
- [1] Padma Awards 2025: list of awardees — Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. Accessed 11 October 2026.
- [2] Padma Awards 2025: citation for Ronu Majumdar — Padma Awards, Government of India. Accessed 12 October 2026.
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