Pandit Sajan Mishra

Sajan Mishra was born in 1956 and brought up in Varanasi, in a musical family whose tradition stretches back about three centuries. He learnt first from his great-uncle, the vocalist Pandit Bade Ramdas Mishra, and then from his father Pandit Hanuman Prasad Mishra and uncle Pandit Gopal Prasad Mishra, both eminent sarangi players.

Although his brother Rajan was four years older, the two decided to debut together and sing together for life. Their first concert was a haazri — an offering of music — at the Sankat Mochan temple in Varanasi. They moved to Delhi in 1977, gave their first concert abroad in Sri Lanka in 1978, and went on to perform across Europe, North America and Asia for more than four decades, including at Darbar Festival at the Royal Festival Hall, London, in 2016 with Pandit Kumar Bose on tabla. They founded Viraam, a gurukul in Uttarakhand where Banaras-style khayal is taught.

Honours shared with his brother include the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1998), the Padma Bhushan (2007) and the National Tansen Samman (2011–12). After Rajan Mishra died in April 2021, Sajan Mishra continued performing with his son Swaransh, a vocalist trained by Rajan Mishra, including tribute concerts to his brother in India and the USA.

Unhurried khayal that keeps strictly to the purity of the raga, with Banaras thumri, dadra and bhajans alongside. Heard in duet — first with his brother, now with his son.