Manju Mehta

Mehta was born on 21 May 1945 in Jaipur,{{Cite web|last=Service|first=Tribune News|title=Sitarist Manju Mehta gets Tansen Samman|url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/archive/nation/sitarist-manju-mehta-gets-tansen-samman-704323|access-date=2021-09-30|website=Tribuneindia News Service|language=en}} to Manhohan and Chandrakalav Bhatt.{{Cite web|title=Manju Mehta {{!}} Learn Indian Classical Music Online - Sharda.org|url=https://www.sharda.org/manju-mehta/|access-date=2021-09-30|website=Sharda Music|language=en-AU}} She grew up in a family of musicians; both of her parents were accomplished musicians, with her mother studying with several court musicians. Her older brother Shashi Mohan Bhatt and younger brother Vishwa Mohan Bhatt would both be recognized as pandits later in life.{{Cite web|title=Pt Vishwa Mohan Bhatt returns to stage after crucial head surgery with a concert in Chandigarh - Times of India|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/events/chandigarh/pt-vishwa-mohan-bhatt-returns-to-stage-after-crucial-head-surgery-with-a-concert-in-chandigarh/articleshow/86120769.cms|access-date=2021-09-30|website=The Times of India|language=en}}

Sashi Mohan, a student of Ravi Shankar,{{Cite magazine|date=August 4, 1997 |title=Sitar maestro Pandit Shashi Mohan Bhatt passes away|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/signposts/story/19970804-sitar-maestro-pandit-shashi-mohan-bhatt-passes-away-831842-1997-08-04|access-date=2021-09-30|magazine=India Today|language=en}} was his sister Manju's first sitar teacher. After winning two consecutive State and Central Government scholarships, she was given the opportunity to study under sarod player Pandit Damodar Lal Kabra, a disciple of Ali Akbar Khan{{Cite web|author=Amarendra Dhaneswhar|date=Feb 6, 2011|title=Celebrating a legacy|url=https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/entertainment/music/celebrating-a-legacy/articleshow/16099489.cms|access-date=2021-09-30|website=Mumbai Mirror|language=en}} and Shankar.

While studying and recording{{cite AV media |people=Bhattacharya, Deben (producer and recording); Kabra, Damodarlal (sarod); Bhatt, Manju (sitār); Sharma, Subodh (tablā); Kabra, Kumari (tamburā)|title=The sitār of India |date=1971|url=https://catalog.princeton.edu/catalog/995571253506421|publisher=London: Argo|access-date=2021-09-30}} with Kabra, Mehta began performing, competed in the All India Radio competition, and earned her master's degree in music. During one performance, she met tabla player Nandan Mehta, a student of Kishan Maharaj and exponent of the Banaras gharana.{{Cite web|last=Correspondent|first=dna|date=2012-09-23|title=Pt Nandan Mehta's legacy relived in Ahmedabad|url=https://www.dnaindia.com/ahmedabad/report-pt-nandan-mehta-s-legacy-relived-in-ahmedabad-1744187|access-date=2021-09-30|website=DNA India|language=en}} Manju and Nandan would later marry, having two daughters—Poorvi and Hetal, who respectively play sitar and tabla—before Nandan's death in 2010.

Mehta died on 20 August 2024, at the age of 79.{{cite news |title=Sitarist Vidushi Manjuben Mehta passes away in Ahmedabad |url=https://deshgujarat.com/2024/08/20/sitarist-vidushi-manjuben-mehta-passes-away-in-ahmedabad/ |access-date=20 August 2024 |publisher=Desh Gujarat |date=20 August 2024}}

After marrying Nandan and the births of her two children, Mehta did not perform for almost a decade before, in 1980, she was accepted (like her earlier teachers Bhatt and Kabra) to study with Ravi Shankar.

Mehta was a top grade classical instrumentalist,{{Cite web|last=Prasar Bharati—All India Radio, Ahmedabad|date=1 January 2020|title=Annual List of Music Artists of All India Radio: Ahmedabad|url=https://prasarbharati.gov.in/music_artists/airahmedabad.pdf}} the highest grade of musicians in All India Radio's rating system.{{Cite web|title=Music Auditions {{!}} Prasar Bharati|url=https://prasarbharati.gov.in/music-auditions/|access-date=2021-09-30|website=prasarbharati.gov.in}} She was the co-founder of Saptak school of music @ Saptak trustSaptak Festival of Music held every year in Ahmedabad.{{cite web|url=http://www.ndtv.com/article/cities/ahmedabad-sways-to-serene-sitar-tunes-62755 |title=Ahmedabad sways to serene sitar tunes |publisher=Ndtv.com |date=2010-10-27 |accessdate=2012-02-10}}

• Sangeet Natak Academy of Gujarat
• Tansen Samman, 2018 {{cite web|url=https://wap.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/sitarist-manju-mehta-gets-tansen-samman-118122600321_1.html|title=Sitarist Manju Mehta gets 'Tansen Samman'|date=26 December 2018|accessdate=2 January 2019}}
• Dhirubhai Thakar Savyasachi Saraswat Award, 2016.{{cite magazine|editor-last=Joshi|editor-first=Arvind|title="Dr. Dhirubhai Thakar Savyasachi Saraswat Award" Function Organized by the Gujarat Vishwakosh Trust, Ahmedabad at Ahmedabad|url=https://rajbhavan.gujarat.gov.in/FlipBook/Yatkinchit_July16/files/assets/basic-html/page66.html|date=July 2016|magazine=Yatkinchit (The In-house Magazine of Gujarat Raj Bhavan)|volume=2|issue=3|page=64|accessdate=2020-07-15|publisher=Gujarat Raj Bhavan|location=Ahmedabad}}

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Category:1945 births

Category:2024 deaths

Category:Hindustani instrumentalists

Category:Musicians from Jaipur

Category:Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award

Category:Sitar players