Meeta Pandit is a Hindustani Classical vocalist and a leading exponent of the Gwalior Gharana. She is the granddaughter and disciple of Krishnarao Shankar Pandit and daughter of Laxman Krishnarao Pandit. She is the sixth in the unbroken lineage and the first woman in the family to have taken up music as a profession.
Early life
Meeta was born in New Delhi, India.[1] She is the daughter of Abha Pandit, a homemaker and Pt. Laxman Krishnarao Pandit, a veteran singer of the Gwalior gharana and Sangeet Natak Akademi awardee.[2][3][4][5] She spent her childhood in New Delhi, where she attended St. Mary's School until higher secondary, and earned a bachelor's degree in commerce from Lady Sri Ram College, Delhi University.[6][7]
Meeta began training with her legendary grandfather, the doyen of the Gwalior gharana, Padma Bhushan Pt. Krishnarao Shankar Pandit and her father Pt. Laxman Krishnarao Pandit, at the age of 3. Growing up in a house where music ustads and her father's disciples visited day in and day out, and all conversations centered around music, she was exposed to the finer aspects of music from a very young age.[8] However, as a teenager, she was encouraged by her parents to take up a more stable profession than music, primarily due to the irregular working hours and solo travels involved, making it a difficult career choice for a woman.[9] Her elder brother Tushar Pandit was in fact, being groomed to take the family legacy forward. He was pursuing a PhD in Hindustani classical music when he met with a fatal road accident in New Delhi on 1 September 1994 at the age of 27.[10][11][12] Meeta, who was pursuing her bachelor's degree in commerce at the time and preparing for an MBA, decided to take up the cudgels of carrying on the legacy and went on to pursue her master's degree in music. She completed her PhD in Hindustani Classical music by the age of 27.
Career
Meeta gave her first performance on stage at the age of 9, during a 3-day music festival ‘Prasang’ organized for the 75th birthday celebrations of her grandfather, Pt. Krishnarao Shankar Pandit at Bharat Bhawan, Bhopal.[13] At the age of 15, she performed at the Sankat Mochan festival in Varanasi,[14] one of India's biggest annual classical music and dance festival.[15] She has performed at almost all the major classical music festivals of India and abroad which include the Sawai Gandharva Bhimsen Festival in 1999 and 2014,[16] the Dover Lane Music Conference, Kolkata in 2013 and 2019 and the Tansen Samaroh, Gwalior in 2011, 2013 and 2019 .
Meeta Pandit Live in Thane – Photograph Credits: Dhanesh Patil 2017
Other notable performances:
De Meervaart, Netherlands
'Spring in the Season of Love' : Bagri Foundation, London (2015)
Between 1995 and 2005, Meeta performed extensively in prestigious festivals in India and abroad in France, Germany, London, Switzerland, Norway, Rome, United States, Russia and Bangladesh.[19]
Through a special project by French Embassy in New Delhi, she stayed in Paris for three months as an "Artist in Residence" in 2003. She collaborated with the Jazz pianist, Allie Delfau, as a part of an Indo-French project.[20]
In 2005, the Public Service Broadcasting Trust and Prasar Bharati made a film titled – "Meeta: Linking a Tradition with Today” – which documents her life and growth as a singer.[23]
2005–2019
In 2008, Meeta presented a music appreciation series called "Swar Shringar" on World Space Satellite Radio.[24]
She collaborated with Amsterdam based Tabla player, Heiko Dijker on an album called "The Luminance Project". This album was launched in 2012.[25]
Along with being a popular performing artist, Pandit is the author of a book titled, 'India's Heritage of Gharana Music: Pandits of Gwalior'. She presently works as the Head of Department, Assistant Professor of music at the Maya Somaiya School of Music and Performing Arts, Somaiya Vidyavihar University, Mumbai.[30] She is a 'top-grade' vocalist of the All India Radio.
For the disssemination of Indian Classical Music, the Prasar Bharati and Doordarshan invited her to present a 13-episodes music education series, 'Raga Sudha', which was telecasted on DD Bharati.
Meeta sings in different genres such as bhajan, thumri, tappa and ghazal and has proved her mastery over khayal and tappa. She actively promotes Indian Classical music worldwide. She has also been actively coaching budding singers from India and abroad in her attempt to spread Indian Classical Music globally.[31] She often performs for SPIC MACAY in various schools and colleges to ignite an interest of Indian Classical Music in students.
Awards
Before 2005
The 'Golden Voice of India' by the Singers Society of India – 1989
'Sur Mani' by Sur Singar Samsad – 1992
'Excellence in Music' Award: by Lady Shri Ram College – 1995
'Full Circle Inner Flame Award', Full Circle Publishing Pvt. Ltd, 1999 (Awarded by I.K Gujral)[32]
'Yuva Ratna' – Youth Excellence Award by Rotaract Club – 1999
^"Ongoing legacy". The Hindu. The Hindu. 27 November 2010. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
^"Lady of Lineage". The Sunday Standard. The New Indian Express Group. 13 April 2014. Archived from the original on 13 April 2014. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
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