Pandit Jasraj

Hindustani classical vocalist Pandit Jasraj – also known simply as Jasraj - was born in Hisar, British Punjab, India on January 28, 1930. He was known for his multi-octave range and soulful voice, which made him one of India’s most popular vocalists for more than 7 decades. When he was 7 years old, he learned to play the tablâ but, encouraged by his father, he turned to singing when he was 14. After spending time studying music with the musicians of Mewati gharana, he moved to Calcutta in 1946 and began singing classical music for radio broadcasts. Pandit Jasraj settled in Bombay and became one of the undisputed masters of Hindustani music. He mastered many other styles of Indian music including semi-classical, popular music, and devotionals. Pandit Jasraj’s music has also been featured in Bollywood productions such as Ek Hasina Thi (2004), 1920 (2008), and The Life of Pi (2012). His most popular recordings include "Ganesha Gayatri Mantra” from 2007’s The Complete Set of Daily Prayers. Pandit Jasraj also turned his attention to teaching, founding schools in cities such as Atlanta, Tampa, Vancouver, New York, New Jersey, Mumbai, and Kerala. Some of the students he personally tutored include Saptarshi Chakraborty, Sanjeev Abhyankar, Sandeep Ranade, Tripti Mukherjee Suman Ghosh, Anuradha Paudwal, Sadhana Sargam, and Ramesh Narayan. Pandit Jasraj spent six months of each year in the US and Canada, where he would teach and perform. While stuck in the US during the COVID-19 lockdown, he died of cardiac arrest on August 17, 2020, at the age of 90.

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