Hariprasad Chaurasia
Indian flautist (born 1938)
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Born into a family with no professional musical background, Chaurasia initially trained as a wrestler at the insistence of his father while secretly studying music. He began his professional career with All India Radio (AIR) in Cuttack in 1957 before being transferred to Bombay in 1962, where he became active in both classical music and the Hindi film industry. He later became a disciple of Annapurna Devi of the Maihar gharana. Alongside his classical career he worked extensively as a studio flautist, formed the film-composing partnership Shiv-Hari with santoor player Shivkumar Sharma producing notable filmscores like Silsila (1981) and Chandni (1989). He also collaborated with musicians including George Harrison, Zakir Hussain, John McLaughlin and Jan Garbarek.
He received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1984, the Padma Bhushan in 1992 and India's second higest civilian honour, the Padma Vibhushan in 2000. In 2011 he was elected a Fellow of the Sangeet Natak Akademi, its highest honour.
Early life and education
Chaurasia was born in Allahabad (present day Prayagraj) in the United Provinces (present Uttar Pradesh). His mother died when he was six years old, after which he was brought up by his father, Chhedilal Pehelwan, who was a professional wrestler.< and his elder sister. He had to learn music without his father's knowledge, as his father wanted him to become a wrestler. Chaurasia did go to the Akhada and trained with his father for some time, although he also started learning stenography and Hindustani vocal music from his neighbour, Pandit Rajaram at the age of 15. Later, he switched to playing the flute under the tutelage of Bholanath Prasanna of Varanasi for eight years.
He has stated,
"I was not any good at wrestling. I went there only to please my father. But maybe because of the strength and stamina I built up then, I'm able to play the bansuri even to this day."
— Hariprasad Chaurasiaa
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Career
Chaurasia first worked as a stenographer in Allahabad while continuing to practise music privately. He joined the All India Radio, Cuttack, Odisha in 1957 and worked as a composer and performer. This relocation helped him him to leave Allahabad and pursue music as a profession. Here after working four year he was transferred to Mumbai. Much later, while working for All India Radio, he received guidance from the reclusive surbahar player Annapurna Devi of Maihar gharana, daughter of Baba Allaudin Khan. She only agreed to teach him if he was willing to unlearn all that he had learnt until then. Another version is that she only agreed to teach him after he took the decision to switch from right-handed to left-handed playing to show her his commitment. In any case Chaurasia plays left-handed to this day.
In 1967, Chaurasia, santoor player Shivkumar Sharma and slide guitarist Brij Bhushan Kabra recorded the instrumental album Call of the Valley, it marked the beginning of Chaurasia's long professional association with Sharma. The album was widely circulated in India and abroad and became one of the best-known recordings associated with the three musicians, and a milestone in world music. AllMusic reviewer Ken Hunt advises that "If the newcomer buys only one Indian classical recording, it should be "Call of the Valley"." It is listed in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
Starting 1970s, in a career stretching over six decades, Chaurasia toured locally and internationally extensively, as a soloist and in jugalbandi performances, performing at venues like Carnegie Hall, the Royal Albert Hall and the Kremlin.
Film music
Apart from classical music, Hariprasad has collaborated with Shivkumar Sharma, forming a composing duo called Shiv-Hari. The pair composed music for many popular movies, including Silsila and Chandni, and created some highly popular songs, such as "Dekha Ek Khwab", "Yeh Kahan Aa Gaye Hum", "Neela Aasman So Gaya" and "Rang Barse". The duo encouraged actor Amitabh Bachchan to sing in the film Silsila, including on song "Rang Barse".
Chaurasia also collaborated with Bhubaneswar Mishra, forming the pair "Bhuban-Hari" (in line with Shiv-Hari), and the pair composed music for many Odia films including Samaya (1975) and Gapa Hele Bi Sata (1976), creating numerous songs that were hugely popular in the state. These include Muje janena kaha baata (sung by Suman Kalyanpur; movie: Gapa helebi Sata); and all songs from Maa o Mamata, and many more.
International collaborations
He has collaborated with several western musicians, including John McLaughlin, Jan Garbarek, and Ken Lauber, and has composed music for Indian films. Chaurasia also played on The Beatles' 1968 B-side "The Inner Light", which was written by George Harrison. He also played with George Harrison on his first solo release, Wonderwall Music, and with Harrison, Ravi Shankar and others on the Dark Horse Records release Shankar Family & Friends (1974). In December 1986 he recorded Making Music (1987) with tabla player Zakir Hussain, guitarist John McLaughlin and Norwegian saxophonist Jan Garbarek, it featured improvisations both in Hindustani and European music.
In 1997, Chaurasia participated in the revived version of John McLaughlin's Indo-jazz group Shakti, known as Remember Shakti, and took part in its series of concerts in the United Kingdom.
Musical style
Chaurasia's playing is known for its lyrical, voice-like quality and for bringing the bansuri into the extended form of Hindustani classical music, with detailed alap, jor and jhala. An key influence on his style was his training under Annapurna Devi of the Maihar gharana. As she was not a flute player, she taught him by singing the musical phrases and ideas she wanted him to learn, which Chaurasia then reproduced on the flute. Chaurasia later explained that this taught him to think of the flute simply as a medium for expressing music, rather than limiting himself to techniques specific to the instrument. Through continued experimentation, he expanded the expressive range of the bansuri while retaining an emphasis on melody, emotion and the development of the raga. The Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National academy for Performing arts, credited him with evolving a distinctive style of flute playing and establishing himself among India's leading classical musicians.
His melodic approach also helped make his music accessible to audiences beyond specialist classical music listeners. Although his career has included film music and collaborations with jazz and world music musicians, Chaurasia has maintained that experimentation should remain grounded in a strong understanding of classical music.
Teaching
Teaching became an increasingly important part of Chaurasia's later career, especially in the traditional guru–shishya model. In 2002 he established the Vrindaban Gurukul in Mumbai with support from the Sir Ratan Tata Trust, and formally inaugurated with an overnight concert around Krishna Janmashtami in 2002. A second Vrindaban Gurukul opened in Bhubaneswar in 2010.
Chaurasia's nephew and pupil Rakesh Chaurasia is also a flautist, and has been performing with artists such as Zakir Hussain.
In 1991, he was appointed as the artistic director of the Indian music section in World Music Department at the Rotterdam Conservatory of Music in the Netherlands. A role he continued even when the conservatory was incorporated into Codarts. In 2008, the Netherlands appointed him an "Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau" for his musical contribution, presented by Princess Máxima.
Personal life
Chaurasia has married twice, first to Kamala Devi, whom he married around 1957. His second marriage after a few years, was with Anuradha Roy, a classical vocalist who he met while working a AIR Cuttack. He has three sons. With first wife Kamala Devi he has two sons, Vinay and Ajay. With Anuradha, Chaurasia has a son named Rajeev. Chaurasia has five granddaughters and a grandson. Kamala Devi died in her early forties after a period of illness.
In 2010, the chronology of Chaurasia's two marriages became the subject of a legal dispute, when his sons Vinay and Ajay Chaurasia, from his marriage to Kamala Devi, filed a defamation suit in Bombay High Court (Vinay Kumar Chaurasia & Anr. v. Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia & 3 Ors. ) against Chaurasia and biographer Surjit Singh, alleging that the authorised biography Woodwinds of Change misrepresented the order of his marriages by suggesting that he married Kamala after Anuradha "Angurbala" Roy, which they argued implied that they were illegitimate. They sought ₹1 lakh in token damages and an injunction against further publication of the biography; the Bombay High Court declined to grant an interim restraint in March 2010, although the suit continued. The family dispute resurfaced in 2013 after the release of the documentary Bansuri Guru, directed by Chaurasia's son Rajeev Chaurasia. Vinay Chaurasia criticised the film for omitting his mother Kamala Devi, meanwhile their previous their lawsuit concerning Woodwinds of Change still continued. In 2026, The Indian Express similarly noted that the biographical musical Bansuri Jab Gaane Lage, written by Chaurasia's daughter-in-law Pushpanjali and produced by Rajeev, portrayed several women important to his life but omitted Kamala Devi and their two sons.
His nephew Rakesh Chaurasia is also a flautist and carrying forward the family legacy.
In popular culture
The 2013 documentary film Bansuri Guru features the life and legacy of Chaurasia and was directed by the musician's son Rajeev Chaurasia and produced by the Films Division Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. A 2026 stage musical Bansuri Jab Gaane Lage based on his life and career was produced by his family members.
Biblliography
- Vasudev, Uma (2005). Hariprasad Chaurasia: Romance of the Bamboo Reed. Shubhi Publications. ISBN 978-81-8290-042-4.
- Singh, Surjit (2008). Woodwinds of Change: The Authorized Biography of Padmavibhushan Hariprasad Chaurasia. Richa's Enterprise. ISBN 978-81-906927-0-0.
- Tournier, Henri (2010). Hariprasad Chaurasia et l'art de l'improvisation: Découverte pas à pas de la musique de l'Inde du Nord. Accords Croisés–Harmonia Mundi.
- Tournier, Henri. Hariprasad Chaurasia and the Art of Improvisation* Saran, Sathya (2019). Breath of Gold: Hariprasad Chaurasia. Penguin.
- Singh, Surjit (2010).Bansuri Samrat : Hariprasad Chaurasia (Hindi). Prabhat Prakashan. ASIN:B071XMLL7F.