Meeta Pandit

Dr. 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.

Meeta Pandit
At MERU Concert, Netherlands
Background information
BornNew Delhi, India
OriginIndia
GenresIndian classical, Hindustani Classical Music
Occupation(s)Vocalist
InstrumentsVocals
Years active1983–present
LabelsEMI, SaReGaMa, Underscore
Websitewww.meetapandit.com

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 grandfather Padma Bhushan Pt. Krishnarao Shankar Pandit and her father Pt. L.K 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 Ph.D in Hindustani classical music when he met with a fatal road accident in New Delhi on September 1, 1994 at the age of 27.[10][11][12] Meeta, who was pursuing her bachelor's degree 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 masters in music. She completed her Ph.D in the 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 by 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 prestigious 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 :

At the WOMADelaide Festival, New Zealand.

1995–2000

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. There she collaborated with the Jazz pianist, Allie Delfau, as a part of an Indo-French project.[20]

She represented India as the Cultural Ambassador of India to Pakistan during the South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC) Summit in Islamabad in 2004.[21][22]

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 in 2005.[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]

Since 2009, she has been a consultant with Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, New Delhi, a premier government-funded arts organization in India. Among other things, she is involved in a project archiving more than 60 living maestros representing different genres and gharanas of Hindustani Classical music.[26][27][28][29]

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.[30] 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)[31]
  • 'Yuva Ratna' - Youth Excellence Award by Rotaract Club - 1999
  • 'Sur Mayank' - Pt. Nikhil Banerjee Smriti Award: Sangeet Bhavan (Lucknow) - 2001
  • 'Yuva Ojaswini Award' - 2005[32]

2006–2015
  • FICCI Young Achiever Award for Indian classical music for 2007.
  • Bismillah Khan Award by Sangeet Natak Academy for 2007[33]
  • Delhi Ratna - Art and Cultural Trust of India - 2009
  • Art Karat Award for her contribution to the field of music – 2013
  • SaMaPa Yuva Ratna award for contribution to Classical Music – 2015[34]
  • Bhav Bhaveshwar Rashtriya Samman -2015
  • JP Award -2017, instituted by the Loknayak Jaiprakash International Studies Centre, New Delhi.

Discography

References
  1. "Meeta Pandit taking classical music to the young". Zee News. Zee Media Corporation Limited. 5 April 2008. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  2. "Tagore Akademi Ratna and Tagore Akademi Puraskar". Sangeet Natak Akademi. Sangeet Natak Akademi. Archived from the original on 7 July 2014. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  3. "Lakshman Pandit is the last surviving doyen of the hoary Gwalior gharana". India Today. India Today Group. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  4. "Ongoing legacy". The Hindu. The Hindu. 27 November 2010. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  5. "Sangeet Natak Akademi Puraskar (Akademi Awards)". Sangeet Natak Akademi. Sangeet Natak Akademi. Archived from the original on 30 May 2015. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  6. "Campus Days - Trading notes". The Hindu. The Hindu. 4 February 2011. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  7. "Lady Shri Ram College For Women" (PDF). lsr.edu.in. Lady Shri Ram College. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 March 2019. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  8. "With music genres on tabs". Deccan Herald. Deccan Herald. 22 December 2013. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  9. "A young star of classical music traditions". The Sunday Guardian. 26 October 2013. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  10. "Obituary". The Times Of India. Bennette, Coleman & Co. Ltd. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  11. "I Was Prepared For Everything God Had In Store For Me". Tehelka.com. Tehelka.com. 28 June 2014. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  12. "Upholding a family legacy, and also going beyond it". The Hindu. The Hindu. 9 April 2007. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  13. "A young star of classical music traditions". The Sunday Guardian. 26 October 2013. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  14. "Meeta Pandit taking classical music to the young". Zee News. Zee Media Corporation Limited. 5 April 2008. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  15. "Let the music linger on". The Hindu. The Hindu. 21 May 2015. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  16. "Meeta Pandit | sawai gandharva bhimsen mahotsav". sawaigandharvabhimsenmahotsav.com. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
  17. "India International Centre|A Celebration of Carnatic and Hindustani Music". www.iicdelhi.in. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
  18. Excelsior, Daily (19 February 2016). "City of Temples reverberates with vocal recitals of Srinivas, Meeta". Jammu Kashmir Latest News | Tourism | Breaking News J&K. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
  19. "Meeta Pandit taking classical music to the young". Zee News. Zee Media Corporation Limited. 5 April 2008. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  20. "With music genres on tabs". Deccan Herald. Deccan Herald. 22 December 2013. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  21. "Upholding a family legacy, and also going beyond it". The Hindu. The Hindu. 9 April 2007. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  22. "Music Maestro". Womensera.com. Woman's Era. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  23. "A young star of classical music traditions". The Sunday Guardian. 26 October 2013. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  24. "With music genres on tabs". Deccan Herald. Deccan Herald. 22 December 2013. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  25. "Indian classical needs support to sustain itself: Meeta Pandit". Zee News. Zee Media Corporation Limited. 5 August 2012. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  26. "Ongoing legacy". The Hindu. The Hindu. 27 November 2010. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  27. "Lady of Lineage". The Sunday Standard. The New Indian Express Group. 13 April 2014. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  28. "Diva of classical music". Tribune India. The Tribune. 7 August 2011. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  29. "Gems from classical music maestros recorded for posterity". Business Standard. Press Trust Of India. 23 July 2014. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  30. "Music Maestro". Womensera.com. Woman's Era. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  31. "Biography". last.fm. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  32. "Meeta Pandit". Sawai Gandharva Bheemsen Mahotsav. Sawai Gandharva Bheemsen Mahotsav. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  33. "Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar 2007". sangeetnatak.gov.in. Sangeet Natak Akademi. Archived from the original on 4 April 2016. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  34. "Santoor maestro Bhajan Sopori announces SaMaPa awards". The Indian Express. The Indian Express. 18 November 2015. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
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