Hindustani classical · Contemporary
Niladri Kumar
Fifth-generation sitarist, son and disciple of Pandit Kartick Kumar, and the inventor of the zitar.
- Instrument
- Sitar
- Gharana
- Maihar (Senia-Maihar) gharanaThrough his father and guru Kartick Kumar, a disciple of Ravi Shankar.
Official website & social links
We have no checked official pages for Niladri Kumar yet. Suggest an official link.
Where to start
Begin listening
Start here
Raag Bhairavi — with Pandit Subhankar Banerjee
Bhairavi · Sitar and tabla · 8:03 · darbarfestival
A short Bhairavi that shows his tone before anything else.
Explore further
Raag Mishra Kafi — sitar solo
Mishra Kafi · 4:10 · darbarfestival
Recordings are embedded from official or authorised channels and never rehosted. Nothing plays on its own, and starting one closes another. Where an editor has added a note, it explains why that recording was chosen — not what happens inside it.
On screen
Songs & films
- Instrumentalist
- Composer
- Teacher
Biography
Life
Niladri Kumar was born in 1973 in Calcutta into a family with five generations of sitar players. He began learning at the age of four from his father and guru, Pandit Kartick Kumar, himself a disciple of Pandit Ravi Shankar, and gave his first public performance at six at the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry.
Wanting a sound that would carry into other kinds of music, he designed an electric sitar with an internal pick-up which he named the zitar; his first full album made with it, Zitar, appeared in 2008. He has played on film scores for composers including A. R. Rahman, Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy and Pritam, and has recorded and performed with Ustad Zakir Hussain, Talvin Singh and John McLaughlin among others.
He was conferred the Sangeet Natak Akademi's Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar in March 2007, and the M. N. Mathur Award at the 51st Maharana Kumbha Sangeet Samaroh in March 2013 for his contribution to Indian classical music. He teaches as Dean of the Maya Somaiya College of Performing Arts at Somaiya Vidyavihar University.
Musical contribution
What they brought to music
A classical sitar training carried into amplified and film contexts, with the zitar used as a second voice rather than a replacement for the sitar.
Life in dates
Timeline
1973
Born in Calcutta
Into a family of five generations of sitar players.
2008
Releases Zitar
His first full album made on the electric sitar he designed.
Begins the sitar at four
Under his father and guru, Pandit Kartick Kumar.
First public performance at six
At the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry.
In pictures
Photographs
Lineage & company
Teachers, students and musical connections
Documented teaching lineage
Taught by Pandit Kartick Kumar
Father and guru; training began at the age of four.
About | Niladri Kumar
Teaching, family, collaboration and influence are recorded separately here; none is ever inferred from another.
In the documented teaching trees
Where the archive's lineage research places Niladri Kumar, and the teaching links recorded around them inside each tree.
Trained by his father Kartick Kumar.
People
Grouped by the kind of relationship the sources record — who taught this musician, who they taught, family, and the people they played with.
Teachers and gurus
- Pandit Kartick KumarTeacher
His father and guru, himself a disciple of Pandit Ravi Shankar.
About | Niladri Kumar
Collaborators and accompanists
- Satyajit Talwalkarconcert partner
Duo concert at the Darbar Festival, February 2025.
Darbar — Satyajit Talwalkar
Recognition
Honours and recognition
Highest national honour first, then by year.
- 2013M. N. Mathur Award, 51st Maharana Kumbha Sangeet SamarohFor his contribution to Indian classical music.
- 2019R. D. Burman Award for Upcoming Talent in Film Music, 64th Filmfare AwardsFor Laila Majnu.
- 2007Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar, Sangeet Natak AkademiConferred in March 2007.
Community
Memories from the community
Personal recollections, not verified history
These are memories shared by listeners and musicians. They sit apart from the sourced biography above, and an editor reads each one before it appears.
- No memories have been shared yet.
Members can share a memory of Niladri Kumar. Sign in or create an account.
Provenance
Sources and image credits
Photograph: President's Secretariat, Government of India — GODL-India
Continue exploring