Jasraj

Pandit Jasraj (28 January 1930 - 17 August 2020) was an Indian classical vocalist of the Mewati gharana whose musical career spanned 75 years. Born in Pili Mandori, Hisar district (now in Haryana), he was the son of Pandit Motiram, a classical vocalist. After his father's death in 1934, his eldest brother Pandit Maniram continued his vocal training, while his brother Pandit Pratap Narayan taught him tabla starting at age seven. By 14, Jasraj resolved to dedicate himself solely to vocal music.

He spent his formative years in Hyderabad, frequently traveling to Sanand in Gujarat to study with musicians of the Mewati gharana. In 1952, at age 22, he performed his first stage concert as a vocalist in the court of King Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah of Nepal in Kathmandu.

Jasraj created a novel form of jugalbandi called Jasrangi, styled on the ancient system of moorchhana, featuring a male and female vocalist singing different ragas simultaneously. His legacy as a guru was equally formidable: his students include Saptarshi Chakraborty, Sanjeev Abhyankar, violinist Kala Ramnath, Sandeep Ranade, shehnai player Lokesh Anand, Tripti Mukherjee, Suman Ghosh, flautist Shashank Subramanyam, Anuradha Paudwal, Sadhana Sargam, and Ramesh Narayan. He founded schools for Indian classical music in Atlanta, Tampa, Vancouver, Toronto, New York, New Jersey, Pittsburgh, Mumbai, and Kerala.

His awards include the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1987), Padma Shri (1975), Padma Bhushan (1990), and Padma Vibhushan (2000). In 2019, an asteroid discovered by MIT's Lincoln Laboratory was named 2006 VP32 Panditjasraj in his honor. He passed away on 17 August 2020 in New Jersey at the age of 90.