Tejendra Narayan Majumdar
A sarod maestro of the Maihar gharana trained by Ustad Bahadur Khan and Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2025.
Pandit Tejendra Narayan Majumdar is one of the leading sarod players of his generation. In 2025 he was named for the Padma Shri in the field of art, from West Bengal [1].
Training
Majumdar was born on 17 May 1961 [2]. He learned first from his grandfather and from his father, a sitar player, and then studied for eighteen years under the sarod master Ustad Bahadur Khan [2]. After his guru’s death he studied with Ustad Ali Akbar Khan [2]. His playing carries the Senia Maihar gharana tradition, blending dhrupad, instrumental and vocal styles [2].
On stage and screen
At 20, in 1981, he won first place in the All India Radio music competition and the President’s gold medal [2]. He has played at major festivals across India, and at the Hollywood Bowl at Pandit Ravi Shankar’s invitation in 2009 [2]. He has also composed for films, documentaries, theatre and dance for decades, and an album he composed was nominated for a Grammy in 2010 [2].
He founded the Shreeranjani Foundation, which has run the Swara Samrat festival since 2013, and received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2019 [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 Tejendra Narayan Majumdar — Padma Awards, Government of India. Accessed 12 October 2026.
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