Shantha Benegal

There is no one who has taught me more about music and musicality than Smt. Shantha Benegal.  Although I call her my Didi, she is much more an adopted parent in matters of life and music. 

Shantha-di possesses a storehouse of compositional knowledge which she has received from many sources.  She learned the art of Dagar Bani Dhrupad from Ustad Zia Mohiuddin Dagar, who imparted both knowledge of alap and composition to her.  She has also received taleem from Ustad Yunus Hussain Khan of Agra, Pt. Murali Manohar Shukla of the Kunwar Shyam Gharana, Ustad Shujaat Khan, Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Ustad Sabri Khan, Guru Urmila Nagar and many more masters of the art. 

A very patient teacher, she has molded my view on the art carefully and quietly, always allowing me to discover for myself where the beauties of the music are to be found.

Ramesh Gangolli

Teachers of music make their presence known in life in many ways.  I have had very few opportunities to sit and learn music directly from Prof. Ramesh Gangolli.  But today I consider him one of my main inspirations.

Ramesh Mama began studying vocal music at a relatively late point in his life, first from Dr. Sharad Gadre (see below) and then from Pt. K. G. Ginde, and Pt. Dinkar Kaikini.  He continues to sing with Sharad Mama throughout the year in jugalbandhi form.  Ramesh Mama’s contributions are however, not as a practitioner of the art.  Rather he has developed a deep and rarely found knowledge of Hindustani music theory, centered around the works of Pt. Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande, and the repertoire of the Agra Gharana. 

Ramesh Mama has taught me more about life, about forgiveness, kindness, generosity and love than any of my teachers.  His quiet strength has been ever present in my life, and his advice has been invaluable as I follow my musical quest.

Sharad Gadre

I came to Seattle, when I was a truculent young man of 27 years.  A friend advised me to seek out the guidance of Dr. Sharad Gadre.  I quickly found that I did not share his views on musical development, and given my haughty nature we soon grew apart after a few lessons.  But time has changed my perspective on matters considerably, and today I see his influence in my Khayal badhat.

Sharad-ji is in many ways a self-made musician.  He studied with Mirashibuwa and Pt. Nagesh Khalikar, but then went on to develop a style of his own.  His approach is methodical, and relies on musical focus on the note and its relationship to its immediate neighbors.  His mastery over layakari and bolbant is unquestioned and he is one of a very few Khayaliyas who has mastered the art of tihai construction.  One of Sharad-ji’s lasting contributions to Indian music is the software RagaParichaya, which provides a virtual teacher to a student of Hindustani music.