Jaya at 12:01, 21 April 2026

2026-04-21T12:01:55Z

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{{Mscn|date=January 2026}}
{{BLP sources|date=January 2026}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2026}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Chandra Nath Shastri
| native_name = চন্দ্রনাথ শাস্ত্রী
| image = Pandit Chandra Nath Shastri with Ramesh Mishra Sarangi.jpg
| caption = Chandra with Tabla
| image_size =
| birth_name = Chandra Nath shastri
| alias =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1948|12|23|df=y}}
| origin = [[Calcutta]], West Bengal, India
| instrument = [[Tablā]], [[Khol]], [[Mridangam]]
| genre = [[Hindustani classical music]], [[Benares gharana]]
| occupation = Classical musician
| years_active = 1960–present
| label =
| associated_acts = [[Doordarshan]]
| website = {{URL|panditchandranathshastri.weebly.com|Official website}}
}}

Pandit '''Chandra Nath Shastri''' ({{langx|bn|চন্দ্রনাথ শাস্ত্রী}}, {{langx|hi|चंद्रनाथ शास्त्री}}, 23 December 1948), is a [[tabla]] (Indian hand percussion) musician from [[India]], currently based in [[Kolkata]].<ref name="Tiwari">{{Cite web|last=Tiwari|first=Aastha|date=2021-12-23|title='Tabla Tarang' with Pt Chandra Nath Shastri|url=https://www.thetalentedindian.com/tabla-tarang-with-pt-chandra-nath-shastri/|access-date=2022-01-09|website=The Talented Indian|language=en}}</ref> He belongs to the [[Benares gharana]] style of [[Hindustani classical music]]. He is a retired staff artist of [[All India Radio]] and performed regularly for public-television broadcaster [[Doordarshan]]. He is also an [[astrologer]].<ref name="Official Website">[http://panditchandranathshastri.weebly.com/index.html Official website: Pandit Chandra Nath Shatri]</ref><ref name="On the Rhythms of Tabla">{{Cite web|title=On the Rhythms of Tabla|url=https://www.thisday.app/en/details/on-the-rhythms-of-tabla.html|access-date=2022-01-09|website=www.thisday.app|language=en}}</ref>

==Early life and family==

He was born in the [[Dhakuria]] area of Calcutta (now Kolkata), [[West Bengal]], in a [[Bramhin]] family.{{Citation needed|date=January 2026}} Soon his parents and family relocated to [[Varanasi]] ({{a.k.a.}} Banaras, Benares, Benaras), [[Uttar Pradesh]] (UP), where he undertook training in the [[Benares gharana]] style. He was influenced by poet and lyricist [[Rabindra Nath Tagore]].<ref name="On the Rhythms of Tabla"/> His grandmother, Smt. Indira Devi was niece of Rabindra Nath Tagore. His father, Mouli Nath Shastri, was a physician but he was also a spiritual [[guru]] and musician (tabla player), vocal student of Rabindra Nath Tagore, and had directed and acted in theatre (''Muktisnan'', 1937; ''Sancharini'', 1963).<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.gomolo.com/muktisnan-movie-cast-crew/12998 |title=Muktisnan (1937) Casts by Sushil Majumdar |access-date=30 August 2013 |archive-date=4 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191204151119/http://www.gomolo.com/muktisnan-movie-cast-crew/12998 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.lyricswale.com/castCrew/19465/Muktisnan.html |title=Muktisnan (film – 1937) Casts |access-date=30 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191102173402/http://www.lyricswale.com/castCrew/19465/Muktisnan.html |archive-date=2 November 2019 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Academics==

Shastri completed his intermediate schooling at [[C. M. Anglo Bengali Inter College]], Varanasi, UP. He then graduated in science from [[Banaras Hindu University]], Varanasi.<ref name="Official Website"/><ref name="Tiwari"/>

==Musical career==

Shastri's father noted his interest in [[Hindustani classical music]] from a very young age and taught him to play some ''[[Tala (music)|taals]]'' on tabla. At age 5 Shastri began learning from his guruji, Pandit [[Anokhelal Mishra]] of [[Banaras]],<ref name="On the Rhythms of Tabla"/><ref>{{Cite book|last=Mishra|first=Vijay Shanker|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WF3jCwAAQBAJ&dq=pandit+chandra+nath+shastri+tabla&pg=PT297|title=ART AND SCIENCE OF PLAYING TABLA|publisher=Publications Division Ministry of Information & Broadcasting|isbn=978-81-230-2104-1|language=en}}</ref> and later from his son, Ramji Mishra. Shastri and his elder brother, Nath Shastri, would go to AnokhelalJi to learn tabla. Shastri became a fifth-generation tabla maestro of [[Benares gharana]]. As a young teenager he became close to [[Mahadev Prasad Mishra]], [[Kishan Maharaj]], [[Samta Prasad]], Sarda Sahai, and Karamatullah Khan.<ref name="Official Website"/><ref name="On the Rhythms of Tabla"/>

Chandra Nath Shastri became the champion in an [[All India Radio]] (AIR) national competition at age 23, and from a young age was often referred to by the title ''pandit''. He became an AIR staff artist, Indian National Television Channel ([[Doordarshan]]) artist and also a stage performing artist. As a regular performer on TV, radio and stage, he has made several thousand performances and recordings.<ref name="Official Website"/><ref name="On the Rhythms of Tabla"/>

===Performances===

Shastri has performed in many concerts, including tabla solos, percussion ensembles, and accompanied with instrumentalists and vocalists, and worked with numerous music composers and film directors. He also performed with [[Mahadev Prasad Mishra]], [[V. G. Jog]], Sagiruddin Khan, [[Rashid Khan (musician)|Rashid Khan]], [[Lalmani Misra]], and [[Buddhadev Das Gupta]].<ref name="On the Rhythms of Tabla"/>

Shastri judged many musical competitions and talent-hunt contests. He conducted research in Indian music and produced unique works on music, especially in the field of tabla. He also plays [[Pakhawaj]], [[Khol]], [[Mridangam]] and other Indian percussion instruments.<ref name="Official Website"/><ref name="On the Rhythms of Tabla"/>

==Personal life==

Shastri teaches tabla and other musical instruments, and has taught in many music schools, academies and institutes.<ref>{{Cite web|title='Tabla Tarang' with Pt Chandra Nath Shastri|date=23 December 2021 |url=https://www.thetalentedindian.com/tabla-tarang-with-pt-chandra-nath-shastri/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211226170806/https://www.thetalentedindian.com/tabla-tarang-with-pt-chandra-nath-shastri/ |archive-date=26 December 2021 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Chandra Nath Shastri|url=https://www.veethi.com/india-people/chandra_nath_shastri-profile-12463-24.htm|access-date=2022-01-09|website=veethi.com}}</ref>

Shastri also studies [[spirituality]]. He is also an [[astrologer]].<ref name="Official Website"/><ref name="Tiwari"/>

==See also==
*[[Anokhelal Mishra]]
*[[Kishan Maharaj]]
*[[Samta Prasad]]
*[[Shankar Ghosh (musician)|Shankar Ghosh]]
*[[Zakir Hussain (musician)|Zakir Hussain]]
*[[Anindo Chatterjee]]
*[[Swapan Chaudhuri]]
*[[Ashutosh Bhattacharya]]
*[[Kumar Bose]]
*[[Yogesh Samsi]]

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[http://panditchandranathshastri.weebly.com/index.html#BIOGRAPHY Official Website of Chandra Nath Shastri]
*[http://www.sbs.com.au/yourlanguage/hindi/highlight/page/id/375577/t/Benaras-Gharana-Tabla/in/english SBS Radio, Australia - Broadcast: Interview with Pundit Chandranath Shastri of Banaras Tabla Gharana about the specialty of Benares gharana] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170630073943/http://www.sbs.com.au/yourlanguage/hindi/highlight/page/id/375577/t/Benaras-Gharana-Tabla/in/english |date=30 June 2017 }}
*[http://www.rajmusicals.com/teachers-detail.php?id=5029 About Pandit Chandra Nath Shastri : Raj Musicals]
*[https://www.thisday.app/en/details/on-the-rhythms-of-tabla About Pandit Chandra Nath Shastri -On the Rhythms of Tabla]
*[https://www.thetalentedindian.com/tabla-tarang-with-pt-chandra-nath-shastri/ ‘Tabla Tarang’ with Pt Chandra Nath Shastri]
*[https://hellomusictheory.com/learn/famous-tabla-players/ 12 Famous Tabla Players you Should Know]
*[https://books.google.com/books?id=WF3jCwAAQBAJ&dq=pandit+chandra+nath+shastri+tabla&pg=PT297 ART AND SCIENCE OF PLAYING TABLA By Vijay Shanker Mishra]

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shastri, Chandra Nath}}
[[Category:1948 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Musicians from Varanasi]]
[[Category:Hindustani musicians]]
[[Category:Indian drummers]]
[[Category:Indian music educators]]
[[Category:Indian percussionists]]
[[Category:Musicians from Kolkata]]
[[Category:Performers of Hindu music]]
[[Category:Tabla players]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian male classical singers]]

Chandra Nath Shastri - Revision history

Jaya at 12:01, 21 April 2026