Manju Mehta - Indian classical music - Musician - Sitar

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Monday 01, December 2025, 06:00.

Mehta in 2020

Background information:

Born 21 May 1945, Jaipur, Jaipur State, India

Died 20 August 2024 (aged 79), Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India

Genres Indian classical music

Occupation Musician

Instrument Sitar

Years active 1955–2024

Spouse - Nandan Mehta ​(date missing)​

Pandit NANDAN MEHTA, eminent Indian Hindustani Classical Music Percussionist who played the TABLA,  He was a percussionist and music teacher from Ahmedabad who belonged to the Benaras Gharana of Hindustani classical music. He established Saptak School of Music and started Saptak Annual Festival of Music in 1980.

Nandan Mehta was born to Yashodhar Mehta, a writer and lawyer, and Vasumati, a painter and daughter of Sir Chinubhai Baronet. His grandfather Narmadashanker Mehta was aeputed Vedanta scholar. He was trained under Kishan Maharaj and was a tabla exponent of the Banaras Gharana. He introduced Banaras Gharana to Gujarat.

He was a Senior A Grade artist of All India Radio and Doordarshan. His performances won him acclaim. He performed extensively across the country and participated in the AIR National Programmes as well as the Akashvani Sangeet Sammelan. He also served to AIR on their Staff Selection Committee, Ahmedabad and also served on their Music Audition Board.

Nandan Mehta succumbed to oral cancer on 26 March 2010. His wife, Manju Mehta is a sitar player and his two daughters, Poorvi Mehta, a sitar player and Hetal Mehta, a tabla player. In his memory, a gallery dedicated to his life and the Saptak Annual Festival of Music was opened in Ahmedabad in 2012. 

He was awarded Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in  2007 and was honoured by Pt.Jasraj twice (1997 and 2002) on behalf of the Mewati Gharana and was conferred the title of 'Tal Rasik Var'. "Sankalp" central body at Kurukshetra conferred on him the title of 'Sangeet Rushi' in the year 1996. Kumar Club Shastriya Group Ahmedabad also honoured him for rendering outstanding services to the field of classical music. He has been awarded the prestigious 'Gaurav Puraskar' by the Gujarat Sangeet Natak Academy for his outstanding contribution in the field of music in the year 1988. He was also honoured on 'Vishwa Rang – Bhoomi day' for his contribution in the field of music in Vadodara, and by the Medical Association in Ahmedabad. Swar Sadhana Samiti, Mumbai, awarded him 'Swar Sadhana Ratna' in the year 2004. He was also honoured by 'Kala Gurjari' Bhavnagar, Sangeet Kala Niketan, Jaipur. He was also honored by Madhuvan, Bhopal for his contribution in the field of music in the year 2005. He was conferred the title 'Shreshth kala Acharya'. Dr.H.L.Trivedi, Director, Kidney Institute has also honoured him for rendering outstanding services in the field of Classical music and conferred the title 'Bhagwan Mahavir Karuna Sewa Sanman' in 2007. He was awarded "Sangeet Ratna Chudamani" by Divya Jivan Sangh Shivanand Ashram Ahmedabad in 2008 by Naval Kishore Sharma, Governor of Gujarat.

Introductions:

Vidushi Manju Mehta (born Manju Bhatt; 21 May 1945 – 20 August 2024) was an Indian classical sitar player.

Background:

Mehta was born on 21 May 1945 in Jaipur, to Manhohan and Chandrakalav Bhatt. She grew up in a family of musicians; both of her parents were accomplished musicians, with her mother studying with several court musicians.Her older brother Shashi Mohan Bhatt and younger brother Vishwa Mohan Bhatt would both be recognized as pandits later in life.

Sashi Mohan, a student of Ravi Shankar, was his sister Manju's first sitar teacher. After winning two consecutive State and Central Government scholarships, she was given the opportunity to study under sarod player Pandit Damodar Lal Kabra, a disciple of Ali Akbar Khan and Shankar.

While studying and recording[9] with Kabra, Mehta began performing, competed in the All India Radio competition, and earned her master's degree in music. During one performance, she met tabla player Nandan Mehta, a student of Kishan Maharaj and exponent of the Banaras gharana. Manju and Nandan would later marry, having two daughters—Poorvi and Hetal, who respectively play sitar and tabla—before Nandan's death in 2010.

Mehta died on 20 August 2024, at the age of 79.

Career:

After marrying Nandan and the births of her two children, Mehta did not perform for almost a decade before, in 1980, she was accepted (like her earlier teachers Bhatt and Kabra) to study with Ravi Shankar.

Mehta was a top grade classical instrumentalist, the highest grade of musicians in All India Radio's rating system. She was the co-founder of Saptak school of music @ Saptak trustSaptak Festival of Music held every year in Ahmedabad.

Awards:

Sangeet Natak Academy of Gujarat

Tansen Samman, 2018 

Dhirubhai Thakar Savyasachi Saraswat Award, 2016.

Reference:

VIDEO: 40th Saptak Annual Music Festival - 2020 | Smt. Manju Mehta | Sitar

Manju Mehta, the woman behind India’s popular music festival, passes away

Manju Mehta, who was a fine sitar artiste, played a crucial role in popularising Hindustani music in Gujarat through the annual Saptak festival.

Updated - August 20, 2024 06:23 pm IST- The Hindu

Manju Mehta | Photo Credit: The Hindu Archives

Manju Mehta was not only a fine sitar artiste belonging to the Senia Maihar tradition, but she was also one of India’s most respected patrons of music. Co-founder of the country’s largest music festival, the 13-day-long Saptak, which was launched in 1980. Through this event, Manju Mehta gave back to the world of classical music what she gained from it as a practitioner.  

Born on May 21, 1945, in Jaipur, Manju belonged to a family of musicians. Her parents were Hindustani vocalists. Both her brothers — Shashi Mohan Bhatt was proficient in sitar and Vishwa Mohan Bhatt in Mohan Veena. While Manju initially learnt from her brother Shashi, she later trained under sitar maestro Pt Ravi Shankar, who was also her brother’s guru.  

Manju also learnt from the Jodhpur-based sarodist Pt. Damodar Lal Kabra (the first disciple of Ustad Ali Akbar Khan) in the guru-sishya parampara. She often spoke about that period of intense riyaaz, practising around six hours a day, and playing the same raag over and over again.

After marrying tabla maestro Pt. Nandan Mehta, (disciple of Banaras gharana doyen Pt. Kishen Maharaj), Manju shifted base to Ahmedabad, and along with her husband built Saptak into a formidable cultural organisation. She took a decade’s sabbatical from stage performances. After the untimely demise of her husband in 2010, she spent most of her time in managing Saptak, particularly its popular festivals, music school and archival section.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that the simple and affable Manju Mehta played a significant role in promoting Hindustani music in Gujarat. She was the first woman performer to be awarded the Madhya Pradesh Government’s Tansen Samman in 2018, the Kolkata-based ITC Sangeet Research Academy award in 2019 and the Sangeet Natak Akademi award in 2022. Retaining the authentic baaj of her gharana, with the focus on the dhrupad ang aalap and jor, Manju Mehta’s sitar playing stood out for its traditional appeal. Her daughter Purvi plays the sitar, and Hetal the tabla, carrying forward the family’s musical legacy.  

Published - August 20, 2024 04:11 pm IST

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