Gundecha Brothers
Umakant and Ramakant Gundecha are know to be pioneers in the Dhrupad style of music. They are among the most active performers in Indian and international circuits.
For their contribution to the field of Dhrupad and Indian Classical Music, they were conferred the “Padmashri” in 2012 and the “Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, 2017” by the Govt. of India among other national and international awards.
Born in Ujjain in Central India, the brothers were initiated into music by their parents. The Gundecha Brothers received conventional university education and learned the Dhrupad vocal art under the renowned Dhrupad vocalist Ustad Zia Fariduddin Dagar and also with Ustad Zia Mohiuddin Dagar (the distinguished performer of Rudra Veena) under Guru-Shishya Parampara at the Dhrupad Kendra in Bhopal.
The Gundecha Brothers have sung great Hindi poetry by Tulsidas, Kabir, Padmakar, Nirala in Dhrupad style . They have recorded about 50 cassettes and CDs by H.M.V, Music Today, Rhythm House, Times Music, Sony, Senseworld Music, Sundaram Records, IPPNW Concerts Berlin, Navras and Audio Records London. They have also sung for many television channels in India and have been broadcasted on British, U.S., German and French, Japan and Australian Radio as well. As well as being an integral part of all of India’s prestigious music festivals, the Brothers have also performed and conducted workshops at many important international music festivals and institutions in about 25 countries in Europe, U.S.A, Australia, Japan, Egypt, Singapore, Bangladesh, U.A.E and Hongkong.
After the untimely demise of Pt. Ramakant Gundecha, his son Shri Anant Ramaknt Gundecha took the mantle and has been performing in Jugalbandi with his uncle Pt. Umakant Gundecha.
Other awards and honours:
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M.P. Govt. Scholarship – 1981 to 1985
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National Fellowship – 1987 to 1989
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Ustad Allauddin Khan Fellowship, 1993
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Sanskriti Award, 1994
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Kumar Gandharva Award by Govt. of Madhaya Pradesh, 1998
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Dagar Gharana Award by Mewar Foundation,2001
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Rajat Kamal – National Film Award for the Best Music Direction , 2006
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Puttaraj Gawai Award from Puttaraj Gawai Pratishthan, Dharwad, 2010
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Padma Shri Award, 2012
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Tehzeeb Award from Tehzeeb Foundation ,Karachi, Pakistan, 2014
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Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, 2017
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Lifetime Achievement Award from Union Bank of India ,2017
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Madhya Pradesh Gaurav Puraskar by Govt. of Madhya Pradesh ,2017
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Spandan Lalit Kala Samman, 2017
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Vatsala Bai Joshi Award by Sawai Gandharva Festival, Pune 2017
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Swati Tirunal Award – Dhrupad Mela 2018
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Dhrupad Sadharani Geeti Alankaran by Rajasthan Vidyapeeth, Udaipur 2018
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Pandit Siyaram Tiwari Birth Centenary Award 2019
Akhilesh Gundecha
Akhilesh Gundecha has learned Pakhawaj playing from Pandit Shrikant Mishra and Raja Chhatrapati Singh JuDeo. He is post graduate in music and graduate in Law. Has also got scholarship from Ustad Allauddin Khan Sangeet Academy, Bhopal and Govt. of India. He has accompanied many of the Dhrupad Maestros like- Ustad Z.F. Dagar, Ustad Fahimuddin Dagar, Pt. Siyaram Tiwari, Shrimati Asgari Bai, Dr. Ritwik Sanyal and Bahauddin Dagar. He has also played solo recitals in Tansen Festival-Gwalior, Haridas Sangeet Samaroh Mumbai, Dhrupad Samaroh Bhopal and many other festivals. He has toured, USA ,Europe, Japan, Australia. He is regularly featured on Radio and Television. Apart from being an established accompanist and solo artist, he had also created "Madhya Laya", a percussion ensemble, by bringing together vast range of percussion instruments. This ensemble traveled extensively in India and abroad and received great appreciation.