Biography
Manilal Nag stands today as the foremost living representative of the Vishnupur gharana, a lineage rooted in the ancient dhrupad tradition whose foundational aalap forms the core of North Indian raga performance. This approach begins at a deliberate pace and steadily accelerates toward feverish velocity, the very progression many listeners instantly associate with the raga itself. Born to sitar master Sangeetacharya Gokul Nag, he traces his lineage through generations of accomplished instrumentalists, most of them sitar players. From the age of six he trained daily with his father in both vocal and instrumental disciplines, devoting six to eight hours to practice—well beyond the guideline once set by Pinky Das Gupta that one should “never practice in one day more hours than the number of years in your age.”
A central tenet of his training held that instrumentalists in classical Indian music must first master vocal music and mirror the voice’s nuances before pursuing any other technical path. Nag voiced this conviction in terms nearly identical to those used decades earlier by jazz tenor saxophonist Lester Young: “I have to follow the vocal music on sitar. The vocal is the vital point of any instrumental music in India.” In 1953 he gave his first public recital at the All-India Music Conference, supported by tabla master Pandit Santa Prasad. The following year All India Radio chose him as a featured artist. Subsequent festival appearances across India and on international tours organized by the broadcaster’s overseas department brought him widespread recognition. His initial visit to the United States took place in 1973; on the same journey he also performed in England and several other European nations, as well as in Bangladesh and Nepal. Japan hosted him throughout 1985, and in 1994 he made his New York debut at the New School, joined by Samir Chatterjee on tabla.
Both of Nag’s children inherited his musical immersion: sixteen-year-old son Subhasis Nag and twenty-three-year-old daughter Mita Nag now perform publicly, the latter chosen as sitarist for the All-India Music Conference. Nevertheless, he urges them to forgo professional careers, citing the economic and social hardships musicians face in India. In interviews he likewise laments the diminished discipline he observes among younger players, many of whom begin concertizing after only six years of study. As a member of the Indian government’s University Grants Commission and as a board member of All India Radio and its television networks, he participates in selecting artists for broadcast programs.
A central tenet of his training held that instrumentalists in classical Indian music must first master vocal music and mirror the voice’s nuances before pursuing any other technical path. Nag voiced this conviction in terms nearly identical to those used decades earlier by jazz tenor saxophonist Lester Young: “I have to follow the vocal music on sitar. The vocal is the vital point of any instrumental music in India.” In 1953 he gave his first public recital at the All-India Music Conference, supported by tabla master Pandit Santa Prasad. The following year All India Radio chose him as a featured artist. Subsequent festival appearances across India and on international tours organized by the broadcaster’s overseas department brought him widespread recognition. His initial visit to the United States took place in 1973; on the same journey he also performed in England and several other European nations, as well as in Bangladesh and Nepal. Japan hosted him throughout 1985, and in 1994 he made his New York debut at the New School, joined by Samir Chatterjee on tabla.
Both of Nag’s children inherited his musical immersion: sixteen-year-old son Subhasis Nag and twenty-three-year-old daughter Mita Nag now perform publicly, the latter chosen as sitarist for the All-India Music Conference. Nevertheless, he urges them to forgo professional careers, citing the economic and social hardships musicians face in India. In interviews he likewise laments the diminished discipline he observes among younger players, many of whom begin concertizing after only six years of study. As a member of the Indian government’s University Grants Commission and as a board member of All India Radio and its television networks, he participates in selecting artists for broadcast programs.
Albums
