Sulochana Brahaspati is one of the
most well known, and the only woman exponent of the Rampur Gharana of
Hindustani Shastriya Sangeet. She received training in vocal music from Pandit
Bholanath Bhatt of Allahabad and Ustad Mushtaq Hussain Khan of Rampur. Later
she received further training from her illustrious husband, the late Acharya
K.C.D.Brahaspati.
Sulochana Brahaspati’s performances
are distinguished by the richness of her voice and the intricacies of her taans.
The Alap and Dhrupad Ang are pronounced in her music. Her rendering of Dhrupad,
Khayal, Thumari, Dadra and Tappa singing is steeped in tradition and shows
sparkles of a great maestro.
Over the last four decades she has
made her presence felt all over the world with performances in Russia, Hungary,
Mongolia, Nepal, Germany, UK, France, Holland, Italy, Czech Republic and other
European countries. For several years she collaborated with French musicians to
create a magical fusion of Indian classical and French music.
Sulochana Brahaspati has been
honoured with countless awards:
- The Dagar Samman in 2007
- The Tansen Samman in 2006
- The National Sangeet Natak Academy Award by the President of India in 1994
- The Uttar Pradesh Sangeet Natak Academy Award in 1984, to name a few.
She also represented India at the
Millennium Celebrations held in Paris at the turn of the century.
Her book entitled “Khusro, Tansen
Tatha Anya Kalakar” awarded the ‘Best Book of the Year’ by The Authors’ Guild
of India.
Sulochna Brahaspati stands forth
today as one of the foremost classical vocalist in the country today. She is
accompanied by Sri Bharat Bhushan on the Sarangi and Sri Jai Shankar on the
Tabla.
