Som Datt Battu

Som Datt Battu is a Hindustani classical singer, composer and musicologist. He was named for the Padma Shri in 2024 in the field of art, from Himachal Pradesh ^[1].

Three gharanas

He was born on 11 April 1938 into a family of musicians and began learning at five from his father, Ram Lal Battu, of the Shyam Chaurasi gharana ^[2]. He went on to study with Kunj Lal Sharma of the Gwalior gharana, K. S. Chakravarty of the Punjab gharana, and Kundan Lal Sharma, a disciple of the Patiala gharana’s Ashiq Ali Khan ^[2].

Teacher

Battu taught classical music in colleges and universities for more than 40 years, and still teaches students around the world ^[2]. He has never charged his students, treating his lessons as a gift of knowledge rather than paid tuition ^[2]. He compiled a collection of traditional classical compositions in Punjabi, published by Punjabi University, Patiala ^[2].

Composer and writer

He composed martial songs for the Army, Navy and Air Force, and a tune with lyrics by Anand Bakshi that the Army’s Corps of Signals adopted in place of its old British tune ^[2]. His writing on music was included in Man and Music in India, published by the Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla, in 1992 ^[2].

He received the Himachal Gaurav award in 2016 and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for 2018 ^[2].