About

Rakesh Kumar

Rakesh Kumar Rakesh Kumar is among India’s most energetic and innovative flutists. He belongs to the Benares Gharana and was trained in flute by his father, Pt. Sri Jawahar Lal, a genius of the shahnai and the flute. Later, he underwent classical and semi-classical training under the Late Pt. Shyam Lal and Pt. Mahadev Prasad Mishra of the Rampur Gharana. At present, he is training in flute under leading mentors of the Benares Hindu University (BHU) such as Dr. Prahlad Nath. He is himself an Assistant Professor in flute in the Faculty of Performing Arts at BHU. He is a recipient of the Acharya Allauddin Khan Memorial Award given by Pt. Shiv Kumar Sharma at the NCPA, Mumbai, and has received many other prestigious awards. At Mahindra Kabira 2019, Rakesh will perform with Sarada Prasan Das.

Sarada Prasan DasViolinist Sarada Prasan Das belongs to a musical family and trained in North Indian classical violin from childhood. His first lessons in violin were under his father Ramesh Chandra Das, also a violinist, followed by lessons from his father’s guru Ustad M.D Hameed Ahad. Presently, he is training from Dr. Swarna Khuntia and Vidushi Kala Ramnath and also pursuing a Ph.D at Banaras Hindu University. He is an ICCR-empanelled artiste and performs solo, fusion or as an accompanist, across countries and festivals.