MEETA PANDIT

If you have seen the much acclaimed film KHAMOSHPANI, YOU WOULD REMEMBER the trained voice of Meet Pandit in the back drop of the movie. She is in the sixth unbroken lineage of musicians of the legendary Pandit family of the Gwalior Gharana. Excerpts from the interview:

Acknowledged as the scion of the Gwalior Gharana, Meeta is acclaimed to be one of the most promising young musicians of today. Deep rooted in the traditional eight fold style, of singing (ASHTANG GAYAKI) SHE EXCELS IN THE exposition elaboration and interpretation of the intricate patterns, of ragas of the khayal style, with all variations, modulations, and split second precisions. Her melodious and robust voice coupled with intricate handling of ragas has won her admires -young and old alike.

The first musician in the family meeta is pursuing the research on the rare styles like Tapp-khayal, Tapp-tarana, and Taap –tumri, which are almost extinct.
“Gwalior gharan is like the gangotri. The cultural splendor of Gwalior under the great patron of Maan sing was just amazing. It attained the pinnacle of glory during the reign of Akbar. Mia Tan Sen, a native of Behet, near Gwalior is known for his drupad. We have a galaxy of musicians from this school” she said.

She was groomed by her grand father Padmabhshan PT. Krishna Rao and then father Lakshaman Pandit. She had her debut performance at the age of nine. ”In fact it was a trio concert. My brothers THUSHAR AND Athul accompanied me,” said Meeta. The responsibility of upholding the exalted standards of the Gwalior Gahrana suddenly fell on her shoulder aftwer the tragic demise of her brother Thushar Pandit. It was untimely and a sever blow to us. He was doing the research on the contributions of the Pandits of this gharana to HINDUSTANI MUSIC. I COMPLETED THE WORK AND WAS AWARDED THE DOCTORATE.
Meeta’s voice is unique. It is really meeta(sweet). It has tremendous power and range tempered with astound sweetness, stretching over an amazingly wide range of three octaves. The rendering of the breathtaking traditional Tappa is one of the thrilling items in her concert.
“It is the most taxing form of singing” she said. Meeta is equally adept in Tarana, Ashtapadi, and Bhajan. She has composed a few bhajans. Rendition of Ashtapadi by Meeta and her father set to music by the Pir Baksh family is mind boggling. He two albums “foot steps” and “Tansen” were released by Music Today.

Meeta Pandit-Linking a tradition with today is a film on her by PSBT. Her innate talent and dedication to music have been recognized right from an early age. She has bagged a number of awards and accolades including the Golden voice of India (1989).
She has performed all over the world