Hariprasad Chaurasia Age, Wife, Children, Family, Biography & More

Bio
Full Name	Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia
Profession	Flautist
Physical Stats & More
Height (approx.)	in centimeters- 168 cm in meters- 1.68m in feet inches- 5’ 6”
Weight (approx.)	in kilograms- 65 kg in pounds- 143 lbs
Eye Colour	Black
Hair Colour	Grey
Personal Life
Date of Birth	1 July 1938
Age (as in 2017)	79 Years
Birth Place	Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India
Zodiac sign/Sun sign	Cancer
Nationality	Indian
Hometown	Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India
School	Not Known
College/University	Not Known
Educational Qualification	Not Known
Family	Not Known
Religion	Hinduism
Hobbies	Writing, Reading & playing flute
Music
Filmography	• Chandni • Darr • Lamhe • Silsila • Faasle • Vijay • Sahibaan • Sirivennela • 16 Days in Afghanistan
Awards and Recognition(s)	1984: He was honoured with Sangeet Natak Academy 1992: He was honoured with Padma Bhushan and Konark Samman 1994: He was awarded Yash Bharati Sanman 2000: He was awarded Padma Vibhushan, Hafiz Ali Khan Award and Dinanath Mangeshkar Award 2015: He was honoured with Pandit Chatur Lal Excellence Award 2008: He has recieved honorary Doctorate from North Orissa University 2013: He was awarded with the 25 Greatest Global Living Legends In India by NDTV
Favourite Things
Favourite Food(s)	North Indian Cuisines, South Indian Cuisines
Favourite Actor(s)	Amitabh Bachchan, Vinod Khanna, Rajesh Khanna
Favourite Actress(s)	Madhubala, Rekha, Jaya Bachchan
Favourite Singer(s)	Mohammed Rafi, Kishore Kumar, A.R. Rahman
Favourite Musician(s)	Zakir Hussain, Pandit Ravi Shankar, Pandit Shivkumar Sharma, John McLaughlin, Jan Garbarek
Girls, Affairs and More
Marital Status	Married
Wife/Spouse	Kamla (First wife) Anuradha Aka Angurbala Roy (Second wife)
Marriage Date	Year 1957 (first marriage) 15 August 1958 (Second marriage)
Children	Sons- Vinay and Ajay Chaurasia (from first wife) Rajiv Chaurasia (from second wife) Daughter- None
Money Factor
Salary (as an event performer)	4-5 lacs/show (INR)
Net Worth (Approx.)	3-4 Crore (INR)

Some Lesser Known Facts About Hariprasad Chaurasia

Does Hariprasad Chaurasia smoke? No

Does Hariprasad Chaurasia drink alcohol?: No

His mother died when he was 6 years old and was brought up by his father. His father wants him to be a wrestler but he started learning music without his father’s knowledge.

He started learning vocal music from his neighbor, Pandit Rajaram, at the age of 15 but later, he started playing the flute under the guidance of Pandit Bholanath Prasanna of Varanasi for eight years.

In 1957, he also worked as a composer and a performer in All India Radio in Cuttack, Odisha.

He moved to Mumbai to be a disciple of Annapurna Devi, the daughter of Baba Allaudin Khan and first wife of Pandit Ravi Shankar, who helped him in enhancing his repertoire of ragas and compositions as well as strengthen his career as a classical musician.

Annapurna Devi agreed to teach him over two conditions, first was that he has to unlearn all that he had learned until then and another one was, that he has to take the decision to switch playing the flute from right-hand to left-hand to show her his commitment towards music. Since then Hariprasad Chaurasia plays left-handed only.

He shared a great friendship with Shivkumar Sharma and people named that duo ‘Shiv-Hari’, this duo has composed many songs together for various films such as Chandni, Darr, Lamhe, Silsila and many more.

He also served as the artistic director of the World Music Department at the Rotterdam Music Conservatory in the Netherlands and also the founder of the Vrindavan Gurukul in Mumbai and Bhubaneshwar.

He has collaborated with several western musicians, including John McLaughlin, Jan Garbarek, Ken Lauber, Yehudi Menuhin and Jean-Pierre Rampa.

In 1968, he also played a song named ‘The Inner Light’, which was written by George Harrison, for Internationally acclaimed English Rock Band ‘The Beatles’.

In 2013, The documentary film ‘Bansuri Guru’ features his legacy, and was directed by his younger son Rajeev Chaurasia and produced by the Films Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India.

Books such as “Woodwinds of Change” by Surjit Singh and ‘Hariprasad Chaurasia and the Art of Improvisation’, by Henri Tournier, also narrate various instances of his life and journey.