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Pandit Jasraj Age, Death, Wife, Children, Family, Biography

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Age: 90 Years
Wife: Madhura Shantaram
Death Cause: Cardiac Arrest

Pandit Jasraj

Bio
ProfessionIndian Classical Singer
Physical Stats & More
Height (approx.)in centimeters- 163 cm
in meters- 1.63 m
in feet inches- 5’ 4”
Eye ColourBlack
Hair ColourGrey
Music
Music Teacher(s)1. Pandit Maniram
2. Jaywant Singh Waghela
3. Ustad Gulam Kadar Khan (Mewat Gharana)
4. Swami Vallabhdas (Agra Gharana)
Awards & Recognition(s)2014: Sumitra Charat Ram Award for Lifetime Achievement
2000: Awarded with Padma Vibhushan
1990: Awarded with Padma Bhushan
1987: Recieved Sangeet Natak Akademi Award
2008: Recieved Swathi Sangeetha Puraskaram
2010: Honoured with Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship
Personal Life
Date of Birth28 January 1930
BirthplaceVillage Pili Mandori, Hisar, British India
Date of Death17 August 2020 (Monday)
Place of DeathAt his home in New Jersey, United States [1]The Indian Express
Age (at the time of death) 90 Years
Death CauseCardiac Arrest [2]The Hindu
Zodiac signAquarius
NationalityIndian
HometownHisar, Haryana, India
DebutPlayback singer: Film- Sangeet Martand Pandit Jasraj
FamilyFather- Motiram
Mother- Name Not Known
ReligionHinduism
HobbiesSinging, Writing & Reading
Favourite Things
CuisinePunjabi
Actor(s)Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra, Rajesh Khanna
ActressMadhubala, Rekha, Sulakshana Pandit, Vyjayanthimala
Singer(s)Lata Mangeshkar, M. S. Subbulakshmi, Anuradha Paudwal, Sadhana Sargam, Shankar Mahadevan
Colour(s)White, Red, Saffron
Girls, Affairs and More
Marital Status (at the time of death)Married
Wife/SpouseMadhura Shantaram (died on 25 September 2024 due to age-related illness)
Pandit Jasraj With his Wife and Daughter
Marriage DateYear 1962
ChildrenSon- Shaarang Dev Pandit
Pandit Jasraj With His Son
Daughter- Durga Jasraj
Pandit Jasraj Daughter Durga Jasraj
Money Factor
Salary (as an event performer) Rs. 7-8 lakh/ concert

Pandit Jasraj

Some Lesser Known Facts About Pandit Jasraj

  • Did Pandit Jasraj smoke?: No
  • Did Pandit Jasraj drink alcohol?: No
  • Pandit Jasraj belonged to the Mewati Gharana, which is known for its devotion to Indian classical music.
  • He was a great devotee of Lord Krishna and Hanuman and most of the time he sings bhajans of Krishna.
  • He was very much inspired by Begum Akhtar and her song ‘Diwana Banana hai to’. He used to bunk his school and sit for hours in a small restaurant where this song was played daily.

  • His father initiated his training as a vocalist, but later, because of some economic difficulty, he had to start with being a Tabla player accompanied by his brother-cum-guru, Pandit Maniram.
  • His wife, Madhura, directed and produced few documentary films such as Geeta-Govinda, Kaan Kahaani, and Surdas.
  • In 2009, his wife also made a film, Sangeet Martand Pandit Jasraj, which was based on his biography.

  • The famous music composers Jatin-Lalit are his nephews, and Sulakshana Pandit and Vijayta Pandit who was featured in many Hindi films in 1980’s, are his nieces.
  • In 1946, he moved to Kolkata, where he started playing Tabla in an Indian Classical Show and worked as a performing artist for All India Radio.
  • Initially, he wanted to become a Tabla Player. However, he was unhappy with the treatment people use to give to the Tabla artists, as they considered them inferiors in the field of music. So, at the age of 14, he swore not to cut his hairs until he learned to sing.
  • At the age of 16, he started his training as a vocalist, and at the age of 22, he performed his first live concert.
  • In an Interview, he mentioned that in 1960, once, he visited Bade Ghulam Ali Khan in a hospital, and Ghulam Ali asked him to become his disciple, but Jasraj declined his subordination since he was already Maniram’s disciple.
  • He had created history and became the first Indian to perform at both North and South Poles.
  •  He also sang for the soundtrack of the film Birbal My Brother (1975), and a ballad, Vaada Tumse Hai Vaada for a horror film titled ‘1920’.

  • He also gave a soundtrack for the film ‘Life of Pi’, the track is a mix of Hindustani classical music and western music.

  • Since 1972, in memory of his father, he had been organizing a music festival every year called the Pandit Motiram Pandit Maniram Sangeet Samaroh in Hyderabad, India.

  • He aslo recieved various honours such as Sangeet Kala Ratna, Master Dinanath Mangeshkar Award, Lata Mangeshkar Puraskar and many more.
  • Here is the video of an interview with Pandit Jasraj in which he talks about his journey of life.

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