Unquestionably the most well-known and sought-after flautist of India today, Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia (born 1938) has elevated the simple bamboo flute – Bansuri, to towering heights. Unlike many great artists of his age, he does not come from a long musical lineage. His father was a wrestler who aspired for his son to follow his footsteps. To please his father, Hari-ji had trained in wrestling while learning Hindustani vocal music. He attributes the his immense stamina and lung power to this wrestling training.
Soon after he was 15 years of age, he heard a flute recital by Pandit Bholanath and was so enthralled that he changed his focus to studying the flute. When he was just 19, he got a job playing for All India Radio, Cuttack, and within five years he was transferred to their headquarters in Bombay. But he had wanted to pursue music as a profession and his quest for excellence took him to Annapurna Devi. One of India’s most reclusive classical purists, she does not perform in public and only teaches a small group of pupils after thoroughly testing their devotion to her. “For years, I would stand at her door, only to be turned away,” says Hari-ji. “In the end my persistence paid off.” But not without a price: till then a right-handed flute player, to convince her of his sincerity he had to change to playing left-handed. Under her teaching, Hari-ji developed his natural style that was respectful of tradition and at the same time, full of innovation.
Though a classicist by training, he had always worked towards broadening the horizons of his instrument beyond the strictly classical form. He has acquired a perfect command over a variety of light classical tunes and folk variety. As one of India’s most respected classical musicians, he has earned many awards and honors during his long musical career, the noteworthy being – the Sangeet Natak Academy Award, the Padma Bhushan and the Padma Vibhushan. He is a dedicated teacher with several devoted students all over the world.