S Ballesh Bhajantri
A shehnai player and disciple of Ustad Bismillah Khan, called the Bismillah Khan of the South, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2022.
S. Ballesh Bhajantri is a shehnai player and Hindustani vocalist, and one of the last surviving direct disciples of Ustad Bismillah Khan. He was named for the Padma Shri in 2022 in the field of art, from Tamil Nadu [1].
A student of the master
Ballesh was born on 1 April 1958 into a family of shehnai players from M. K. Hubli in Kittur taluk, Belgaum district [2]. He was accepted as a disciple by Ustad Bismillah Khan, accompanied him on several occasions, and was given the title Dakshina Bharat Bismillah Khan, the Bismillah Khan of the South [2]. He carries forward the Benaras gharana style and is an A-grade artist of All India Radio and Doordarshan [2].
Concerts and cinema
He has played concerts since the age of eleven, over a career of 55 years, including jugalbandis with Hindustani and Carnatic musicians [2]. He has performed at festivals across India, among them the Saptak festival in Ahmedabad and the Sawai Gandharva festival in Pune, and at Festivals of India abroad [2].
Working from Tamil Nadu, he has helped build an audience for Hindustani music there [2]. Between 1978 and 2021 he recorded for leading composers in 16 languages, playing shehnai and singing on the background scores of thousands of films and on tens of thousands of film and devotional songs [2]. He also teaches music to young people with disabilities from poor families [2].
His honours include the Tamil Nadu government’s Kalaimamani in 2020 and the Karnataka Kalashree in 2019 [2].
Sources
- [1] Padma Awards 2022: list of awardees — Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. Accessed 24 October 2026.
- [2] Padma Awards 2022: citation for S Ballesh Bhajantri — Padma Awards, Government of India. Accessed 24 October 2026.
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