Nikhil Banerjee

When Nikhil Banerjee passed away in 1986, India lost not only one of its foremost sitar virtuosos but also one of its most pivotal figures in classical music. A onetime prodigy, he captured the All-Bengal sitar competition at nine and later received worldwide recognition for his exceptional mastery. The San Francisco Chronicle praised his playing by noting that “technique is a phenomenon, faster than cheetahs, more secure than the dollar,” while Music And Musicians remarked that “his improvisations always sound completely natural and spontaneous.” In its posthumous tribute, The New York Times observed that “the extraordinary fluidity and assurance of his rhythmic ideas and phrasing set a standard that would have left the more international ‘stars’ of Indian music behind.”

Born to an amateur musician whose performances captivated him, Banerjee first sought an instrument at four, yet his father and grandfather withheld permission. At five they relented, granting him a small sitar that he embraced without hesitation. Beyond claiming the All-India sitar competition, he became, at nine, the youngest artist hired by All-India Radio, where he remained a featured performer for five years. As one of fifteen siblings, he absorbed lasting influence from Ustad Amir Khan, who visited the household to instruct his elder sister; additional tutelage came from Mustaq Ali Khan during a three-month period and from Jnan Prakash Ghosh, who introduced him to tabla. His principal mentor remained Baba (Allaudin Khan), under whom Banerjee and Ravi Shankar trained together from 1947 to 1952. After Baba’s death, Banerjee continued for five more years with the maestro’s son, Ali Akbar Khan, serving as the latter’s accompanist across roughly one thousand Indian engagements. His initial overseas appearances occurred in 1955 when the Indian government dispatched him with a cultural delegation to Poland, Russia, and China; the United States debut followed in 1967. Each summer he devoted three months to instruction, recitals, and lecture-demonstrations at U. C. Berkeley.

In 1968 he received the honorary title Padma Shri and was simultaneously designated India’s “outstanding musician of the year” by the Sangeet Nagat Academy.