Pt. Brij Bhushan Kabra, recipient of Sangeet Natak Akademi Award 2005, presenting Raga Manj Khamaj.

This video is an excerpt of ceremonial function of Sangeet Natak Akademi Award 2005. My Guruji , Pt. Brij Bhushan Kabra played this master piece after receiving the SNA award. Raga- Manj Khamaj (Alap, Vilamvit Gat & Drut Gat). Accompanying Artist: Ustad akram Khan(Tabla) & Debashish Bhattacharya(Guitar) About The Artist: The first Indian artist to use a steel guitar within classical Indian music was Pt.Brij Bhushan Kabra. He modified an archtop guitar, raising the guitar nut, and including "sympathetic" strings, drone strings which are tuned to the raga being performed. Pt. Kabra became the first Indian musician to play raga on the guitar, performed publicly, and recorded the successful album Call of the Valley (1967) with santoor player Pt. Shivkumar Sharma and flute player Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia in 1960. The guitar was seldom used in Indian classical music and his guitar playing gained popularity in the 1970s hippie culture. Kabra recorded solo albums and concentrated on teaching since the 1990s, but continued to perform. He was awarded the Rajasthan Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for 1983--84, was made a fellow of the Rajasthan Sangeet Natak Akademi for 1995--96, and received the national Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for 2005.Pt. Debashish Bhattacharya, chief disciple of Pt. Kabra is also considered as one of the best guitarist in the world. His other disciples namely Shri Debasis Chakroborty(Guitarist) and Prof. Lovely Sharma(Sitarist) are performing all over the world at present. Acknowledgement: Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi.