Highlights
- Pt Rajan Mishra passed away on 25 April due to COVID-19 in New Delhi
- The Padma Bhushan duo of Pt Rajan-Sajan Mihra belonged to the Banaras Gharana of Indian classical music
- They travelled the world wide to perform in various countries
Padma Bhushan Pt Rajan Mishra passed away last month in New Delhi due to COVID-19 at the age of 70. This has left admirers of the Pt Rajan-Sajan Mishra duo saddened worldwide.
Toronto’s Manoshi Chatterjee recalls her experience of meeting her “virtual gurus,” Padma Bhushan Pt Rajan and Pt Sajan Mishra in Canada in 2018, where they had been invited to perform in a concert organised by Raag-Mala, a society for the promotion of Indian classical music in Canada.
“I am so blessed that I could meet my virtual guru. It is a lifelong treasure,” Ms Chatterjee told SBS Hindi as she paid tribute to Pt Rajan Mishra.
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'He was my virtual guru', Indian-Canadian pays tribute to Indian classical music maestro Pt Rajan Mishra who died of COVID-19
SBS Hindi
24/05/202110:57
Referring to her classical music training in India, Ms Chatterjee said that her guru always encouraged her to listen to the maestros. Back in the day, audio cassettes of Pt Rajan-Sajan Mishra taught her a lot about the technicality of Indian classical music.
“So, that’s how he was my virtual guru,” said Ms Chatterjee.
Recollecting memories of her meeting with Pt Rajan Mishra in Canada, Ms Chatterjee said spending time with him and engaging in conversation with him was an enriching experience.
Ms Manoshi Chatterjee with Indian Classical vocalists Pt. Rajan-Sajan Mishra during their during their tour of Toronto in 2018 Source: Manoshi Chatterjee
“The maestro will always be remembered as a true artiste, and his music will live on forever,” she said in her emotional ode to the exponent of the Banaras Gharana of Indian classical music.
Pt Rajan Mishra was born in 1951 into a family of musicians from Varanasi. He carried forward the rich tradition of khayal singing of the Banaras Gharana.
Pt. Rajan and Pt. Sajan Mishra performed at Prahar 8, a 20-hour-long concert of rare ragas at Mumbai's Shanmukhananda Hall on December 8, 2018, in India. Source: Pratik Chorge/Hindustan Times via Getty Images
Trained under his granduncle, Pt Bade Ramdas Mishra, also known as Gayanacharya, Pt Rajan Mishra made his debut on stage along with his younger brother Pt Sajan Mishra in 1967 at Sankatmochan Mandir in Varanasi.
The brothers also got training from their father Pt Hanuman Prasad Mishra and uncle Pt Gopal Prasad Mishra.
The singing duo was considered ‘one soul, two bodies’ when they performed together. Amongst some prominent awards, the duo was conferred India’s third-highest civilian award, Padma Bhushan, Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, Tansen Samman and Gandharva National Award in addition to many other awards and recognitions.
Pt Rajan-Sajan Mishra had travelled the globe and enthralled audiences with their singing.
Over a career spanning more than five decades, the brothers also performed classical melodies set by India’s renowned music directors Lakshmikant-Pyarelal in the Hindi film Sur Sangam, which was a remake of the Telegu film Sankarabharanam. Renowned Indian playback singer S P Balasubrahmanyam, who also died of COVID-19 in 2020, was the playback singer for this song.
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