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ABOUT NAWAZ MIRAJKAR

Biography and Heritage

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Like love, tabla is simple yet profound. The rules we learn in the beginning must eventually be abandoned for pure expression from the heart." 

Nawaz Mirajkar

Biography

Born on 18th November 1976, in Pune, India. Nawaz Mirajkar hails from a proud lineage of musicians. From the tender age of seven, Nawaz began playing the tabla under the tutelage of his father, Ustad Mohammad Hanif Khan Mirajkar. In 1988, Nawaz was awarded a scholarship by the Centre for Cultural Resources and Training, India, under the Cultural Talent Search Scholarship Scheme by the Government of India. He trained as a musician and a tabla player and graduated with the Tabla Visharad Degree (First Class), awarded by Akhil Bharathiya Ghandrva Maha Vidyalaya Mandal in 1994. In 1996, Nawaz was invited to teach tabla at the Temple of Fine Arts in Singapore. Given the cosmopolitan environment of Singapore, he continues to draw inspiration from western, oriental and Indian elements to fuel the creative process.

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Heritage - Grandfather - Ustad Mehboob Khan Saheb Mirajkar

Ustad Mehboob Khan Saheb Mirajkar besides being a great tabla player himself, he was renowned for being a large hearted teacher who kept nothing away from his disciples. Ustad Mehboob khan was born in 1868 in Pune. Right rom his childhood, he was interested in learning Tabla so much so that he left home to pursue his passion and became a disciple of Ustad Jugna Khan who himself was disciple of Ustad Nannhe Khan. After completing his training for 10 years he became disciple of Ustad Jahangir Khan of Indore also he gained valuable training from Pandit Balwantrao Watve.Having learnt from masters of different Gharanas, Ustad Mehboob Khan developed a unique style of his own, combining specialties of each of the Gharanas. He also collected a vast repertoire of unique compositions.

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Heritage - Father - Ustad Mohammad Hanif Khan Mirajkar

Ustad Mohammad Hanif Khan Mirajkar was born in 1938 into a family of musicians. He is the son and disciple of the great Tabla maestro, the late Ustad Mehboob Khan Mirajkar. He has also learned tabla from his elder brother, Late Ustad Abdul Khan Mirajkar. He has also had the opportunity to learn under the maestro Ustad Jahangir Khan from Benares, under whose tutelage he learnt many rare tabla compositions. Ustad Mohammad Hanif Khan became a full time tabla teacher in 1986. He is a recipient of numerous awards, the most recent being "Laya Vadya Ratna" by Temple Of Fine Arts International in year 2002 in Malaysia, "Kala Shree" from "Sangeet Sadhana" in Pune in 2000, "Rajiu Gandhi Puraskar" in 1997 and "Gaurav Padak" from Pune Corporation in 1994. Ustad Mohammad Hanif Khan was trained in the Purab Gharana, but having extensive knowledge in all the Gharanas he has a unique teaching style evident among his students. His senior students, who come from all over India, include Dr. Rajendra Durkar and Nitin Kulkarni. He has also taught Prakash Kandaswamy Vickneshwaran Rainakrishnan and his son Nawaz Mirajkar who are now Tabla teachers at Temple of Fine Arts International.

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