Pandit Jasraj (28 January 1930 – 17 August 2020) was an Indian classical vocalist and the foremost exponent of the Mewati gharana of Hindustani music. In a career of eight decades he was admired for the sweetness of his voice, his command of three and a half octaves and his devotional singing. He trained many students in India and abroad and received the Padma Vibhushan in 2000.
Quick Facts
| Full name | Jasraj |
| Born | 28 January 1930, Pili Mandori, Hisar district (now Fatehabad), Haryana, India |
| Died | 17 August 2020, New Jersey, United States (aged 90) |
| Genre | Hindustani classical vocal (Mewati gharana) |
| Teachers | Pandit Motiram (father), Pandit Maniram (brother) |
| Spouse | Madhura Shantaram (m. 1962) |
| Children | 2 (Shaarang Dev and Durga Jasraj) |
| Honours | Padma Shri (1975), Padma Bhushan (1990), Padma Vibhushan (2000) |
Early Life
Jasraj was born into a family of musicians of the Mewati gharana. His father, Pandit Motiram, died when Jasraj was four, on the day he was to be appointed court musician to the Nizam of Hyderabad. The boy spent part of his childhood in Hyderabad and began as a tabla player, accompanying his elder brother Maniram. At fourteen, hurt by the low regard in which accompanists were held, he vowed not to cut his hair until he had become a singer.
Career
He gave his first concert as a vocalist at 22, before the King of Nepal, and worked for some years as a radio artist in Calcutta. He became known for his slow, meditative unfolding of ragas and for bringing bhakti into the khayal form, singing Sanskrit verses and the compositions of the Vaishnava temple tradition known as haveli sangeet. Among his best-loved pieces are “Mata Kalika”, “Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya” and his renderings of the Madhurashtakam.
He devised a new kind of duet, named Jasrangi after him, in which a male and a female singer perform different ragas at the same time, each in the scale that suits their voice, using an old principle of shifting the tonic.
His students include the violinist Kala Ramnath and the singers Sanjeev Abhyankar and Rattan Mohan Sharma. He set up schools of Indian music in the United States and Canada.
Personal Life and Death
In 1962 he married Madhura, daughter of the film director V. Shantaram. Their daughter, Durga Jasraj, is a music presenter. He died of cardiac arrest at his home in New Jersey on 17 August 2020 and was cremated in Mumbai with state honours.
Honours
Frequently Asked Questions
When and where was Pandit Jasraj born?
Pandit Jasraj was born on 28 January 1930 in Pili Mandori, Hisar district (now Fatehabad), Haryana, India.
When did Pandit Jasraj die?
Died: 17 August 2020, New Jersey, United States (aged 90).
What honours has Pandit Jasraj received?
Padma Shri (1975), Padma Bhushan (1990), Padma Vibhushan (2000).
Featured image: Pandit Jasraj performs at the Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya, Bhopal, April 2015. Photo by Suyash Dwivedi, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
