Janardhan Mitta

Janardhan Mitta
Born (1934-05-12) 12 May 1934
Genres Hindustani classical music
Occupation(s) Sitar player
Instruments Sitar
Years active 1952-

Pandit Janardhan Mitta is a sitar player and Hindustani classical musician. He has had a presence in the Chennai film industry over the last 40 years and is also a noted musician in concert music.

Early life

Pandit Janardhan Mitta was born on 12 May 1934, to a Telugu family in Hyderabad, India. His family was quite involved in music with his father, lawyer, playing the tabla and harmonium and his sister, the sitar, while his brother was a singer in college-level competitions. He began to play his sister's sitar after her marriage and began to teach himself to play the instrument.[1][2]

Tutelage under Pandit Ravishankar

Pandit Mitta auditioned for Deccan Radio, the predecessor of All India Radio in Hyderabad, in 1952,[1] impressing Shaik dawood khan, the tabla maestro with his skill. He continued to play for Deccan Radio and in 1955, he was introduced to Pandit Ravishankar by his colleagues at the radio station,[2] after which he began his studentship under Pandit Ravishankar.[3]

Career

The cover of the album Prashantham by Janardhan Mitta and Kanya Kumari.

In June 1958, he played the sitar accompanying his brother's song at a Telugu film audition and impressed Ghantasala Venkateswara Rao, Telugu singer and composer. He was invited the next day to play at the inauguration of the then new Sarathy Studios in Hyderabad. This led to his first film compositions. He moved to Chennai in January 1959 and became a mainstay of sitar compositions in the Chennai film industry. This led on to his career in film composing. In 1967 he gave his first set of concerts as a member of the Government of India sponsored youth delegation which toured several countries abroad.[1] He is also noted for his partnership with Carnatic violinist Kanya Kumari, to create a fusion of the two styles of Carnatic and Hindustani classical. The duo released a music album in 2004, titled Prashantham with the aim to promote peace and calm through their music. In Kanya Kumari's words, "It's been established by now that music and more so instrumental music has therapeutic properties...There must have been some internal stress factor somewhere, at some stage of life, which would have triggered a violent emotion that compels man to commit an offence...If I could change at least one-tenth of such number of minds with my music, I will consider it an achievement."[4] One of Mitta's compositions was also submitted by Sonoton Creative Sound Solutions for consideration to be played at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.[5]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Balasubramanian, V (7 December 2007). "Striking the right balance". The Hindu. Retrieved 13 May 2011.
  2. 1 2 "Strict teacher, loving mentor" (PDF). Sruti. May 2009. Retrieved 13 May 2011.
  3. ↑ Nair, Jyoti (27 December 2010). "Engaging all the way". The Hindu. Retrieved 13 May 2011.
  4. ↑ Kumar, Ranee (28 April 2006). "Music for the soul". The Hindu. Retrieved 13 May 2011.
  5. ↑ Chakraborty, Shruthi (7 July 2008). "Pick and choose the background score for your next movie online". Live Mint. Retrieved 14 May 2011.
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