Shivnath Mishra

Shivnath Mishra is a sitar player of the Benaras gharana who plays the four vocal styles of the Benaras tradition, Dhrupad, Khayal, Thumri and Tappa, on the sitar, a style all his own. He was named for the Padma Shri in 2022 in the field of art, from Uttar Pradesh ^[1].

Learning from his uncle

Mishra was born in Varanasi on 12 October 1943 ^[2]. He began learning the sitar at eight from his uncle, the Benaras gharana vocalist Mahadev Prasad Mishra ^[2]. In 1976 he earned the Sangeet Pravin from the Prayag Sangeet Samiti ^[2]. For 36 years he worked at Sampurnanand Sanskrit University in Varanasi, where he headed the music department ^[2].

Around the world

He has played with the jazz musicians John Handy and Paul Horn and with Indian masters such as Kishan Maharaj and Samta Prasad ^[2]. He has appeared on the BBC, CBC in Canada and RAI in Italy, and lectured at universities in Britain and Italy ^[2]. He has released four LPs and several CDs, and his book My Musical Journey sets out 129 of his compositions in 80 ragas ^[2]. He teaches in the guru-shishya tradition and gives free lessons to poor children ^[2].

He received the Uttar Pradesh Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2004 ^[2].