Pt.  HARIPRASAD  CHAURASIA

Born on 1 July 1938, in Allahabad, India,
Hariprasad Chaurasia began his musical
training as a vocalist under Pandit Rajaram.
Within a year, he switched to flute-playing
after hearing Pandit Bholanath, a noted flautist
from Varanasi. He tutored under Pandit
Bholanath for eight years and in 1957, barely
out of his teens, he became a regular member
of All India Radio in Cuttack, Orissa where he
worked as a performer and a composer.

Hari Prasad Chaurasia's God gifted talent and
his consummate artistry has distinguished him
as the greatest living master of the Indian flute today.

Hari Prasad Chaurasia's appearance on the concert platform brought him instant
acclaim all over India which was soon followed by invitations from music festivals in
Iran, Europe and the USA, where he reaped a rich harvest of rewards.

Back home in 1984, he was given the National Award of the Sangeet Natak
Academy in recognition of his outstanding contributions to music and later in 1990 he
won the Maharashtra Gaurav Puraskar. In 1992 he was awarded the Padma
Bhushan and the Konarak Samman. In 1994, he was bestowed the Yash Bharati
Sanman.

Chaurasia has been amongst the few Indian classicists who have made a conscious
effort to reach out and expand the audience for classical music. As a musician,
Chaurasia is a rare combination of innovator and traditionalist and has significantly
expanded the expressive possibilities of classical North Indian flute playing through his
masterful blowing technique and his unique adaptation of alap and jor to the flute.