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{{More citations needed|date=August 2008}}
{{Use Indian English|date=May 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2017}}
{{Infobox person 
| image = File:Portrait of Priyaranjan Dasmunsi felicitating noted Tabla Maestro Pandit Kishan Maharaj with Life time Award at the annual concert of Shakhri Begum Memorial Trust at Science city Auditorium, Calcutta on December 9, 2006 (cropped).jpg
| image_size =
| caption =
| honorific_prefix = Pandit
| name = Kishan Maharaj
| honorific_suffix =
| birth_name = Kishan Hari Maharaj
| birth_date = 3 September 1923
| birth_place = [[Kabir Chaura]], [[Varanasi|Benares]], [[United Provinces of Agra and Oudh]], [[British India]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|2008|05|04|1923|09|03}}
| death_place = Khajuri, [[Uttar Pradesh]], [[India]]
| years_active = 1934-2008
| occupation = [[Hindustani classical music|Hindustani Classical]] [[Tabla|Tabla player]]
| parents = Hari Maharaj (father) <br />Anjora Devi (mother)
| signature =
| awards =
| module = {{Infobox musical artist
| embed = yes
| instrument = [[Tabla]]
| genre =
}}
}}

'''Pandit Kishan Maharaj''' (3 September 1923 – 4 May 2008) was an Indian [[tabla]] player who belonged to the [[Benares gharana]] of [[Hindustani classical music]].<ref name=ka>{{cite news |title=Pt Kishan Maharaj: End of an era|author= Shovana Narayan|author-link= Shovana Narayan|url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2008/20080506/nation.htm#16 |newspaper=[[The Tribune (Chandigarh)|The Tribune]] |date=6 May 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?237527|title=Perfect Fourths: Pt Kishan Maharaj and his subtle, thinking tabla was our last link to the quartet of greats|date=26 May 2008|publisher=Outlook}}</ref>

==Early life and background==
Maharaj was born to a [[Brahmin]] family of hereditary musicians in [[Kabir Chaura]], [[Benaras]].<ref name=ka/> His father was Hari Maharaj and his mother was Anjora Devi. He was adopted by his father's older brother, [[Kanthe Maharaj]], who did not have children of his own.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Simpson McDaniel |first1=Alonzo |title=The Absorption of Hydrocarbon Gases by Non-aqueous Liquids |date=1990 |publisher=the University of Wisconsin - Madison |pages=289–291}}</ref>

Maharaj's musical guidance was initiated by his father. Maharaj was six years old when his father died. Afterwards, Maharaj's musical training continued with Kanthe Maharaj and lasted for give years.

==Musical career==
[[File:Indian musicians at the first music conference after India's independence.jpg|thumb|Kishan Maharaj standing (second row, eighth from left) with other leading musicians in 1948.]]
Maharaj began performing in concerts by age 11. He moved to Bombay in 1944 to pursue a music career and initially struggled. He provided tabla accompaniment to [[Sitara Devi]] in the [[Hindi]] film ''[[Badi Maa]]'' (1945).

Within a few years, Kishan Maharaj was sharing the stage with leading classical musicians like [[Faiyaz Khan]], [[Omkarnath Thakur]], [[Bade Ghulam Ali Khan]], [[Bhimsen Joshi]], [[Ravi Shankar]], [[Ali Akbar Khan]], [[Vasant Rai]], [[Vilayat Khan]], [[Girija Devi]], and many others.

Celebrated as a leading tabla soloist, Maharaj also gave [[Sangat (music)|sangat]] to dancers like [[Shambhu Maharaj]], Sitara Devi, [[Gopi Krishna (dancer)|Gopi Krishna]], and [[Birju Maharaj]].

Maharaj also performed alongside celebrated tabla maestros like [[Samta Prasad]] (his uncle), [[Alla Rakha]], and [[Karamatullah Khan]].

His [[Taal Vadya Kacheri]] performances with [[Carnatic music|Carnatic]] percussionist [[Palghat R. Raghu]] were celebrated.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Nadkarni |first1=Mohan |title=Sitar-Sarod Jugalbandi: Synthesis Of Tradition And Experiment |url=https://mohannadkarni.org/sitar-sarod-jugalbandi/ |publisher=The Bombay Sentinel |date=February 1, 1958 |archive-date=30 August 2025 |access-date=9 November 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250830110857/https://mohannadkarni.org/sitar-sarod-jugalbandi/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Among all his compositions, his "Tala Vadya Kacheri" with the Mridangam Vidwan, "Palghat Raghu" stood out. Maharaj extensively toured and participated in several prestigious events across the world, including the [[Edinburgh Festival]] and the Commonwealth Arts festival in the [[United Kingdom]] in 1965. He has toured across the UK, [[USSR]], [[Switzerland]], [[Poland]], [[Yugoslavia]], and [[Czechoslovakia]].

==Artistry==
Maharaj had the ability to play cross-rhythms and produce complex calculations, particularly in [[tihai]] patterns. Known as an excellent accompanist, Maharaj was extremely versatile and capable of playing with any accompaniment, be it with the [[Sitar]], [[Sarod]], [[Dhrupad]], [[Dhamar (music)|Dhamar]] or even dance.

==Death==
Maharaj died on 4 May 2008 at Khajuri near Varanasi, aged 84.<ref>{{cite news|title=Tabla maestro Kishan Maharaj dead |work=Press Trust of India; [[The Hindu]] |date=2008-05-05 |url=http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/009200805051040.htm |access-date=2009-05-25 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104082154/http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/009200805051040.htm |archive-date= 4 November 2012 }}</ref>

==Legacy==
Maharaj trained many disciples, several of whom have become prominent musicians. This includes:
* [[Pooran Maharaj]] (son)
* [[Kumar Bose]]

* [[Sukhvinder Singh Namdhari]]
* [[Balkrishna Iyer]]
* [[Ranesh Mishra]]
* [[Sandeep Das]]
* [[Arvind Kumar Azad]]
* [[Sanju Sahai]]
* [[Vineet Vyas]]
* [[Shubh Maharaj]] ([[Grandson]])

==Personal life==
In 1947, Maharaj married Veena Devi, the daughter of [[Anokhelal Mishra|Anokhelal Mishra's]] older brother. They have a son, [[Pooran Maharaj]], who is also a tabla player.

==Awards and recognition==
Maharaj was awarded the [[Padma Shri]] in 1973 and the [[Padma Vibhushan]] in 2002.<ref>{{cite web|title=Padma Awards|publisher=Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (India)|url=http://india.gov.in/myindia/advsearch_awards.php?start=0&award_year=&state=&field=3&p_name=Maharaj&award=All|access-date=2009-05-25}}</ref> He was married to ''Beena devi'', niece of a Tabla maestro of the [[Benaras Gharana]], [[Anokhelal Mishra|Pandit Anokhe Lal Mishra]].

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://www.varanasi.org.in/pandit-kishan-maharaj] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250522201723/https://www.varanasi.org.in/pandit-kishan-maharaj |date=22 May 2025 }}

{{Padma Shri Award Recipients in Art}}
{{Padma Vibhushan Awards}}
{{SangeetNatakAkademiFellowship}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maharaj, Kishan}}
[[Category:1923 births]]
[[Category:2008 deaths]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan in arts]]
[[Category:Hindustani instrumentalists]]
[[Category:Tabla players]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award]]
[[Category:Musicians from Varanasi]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian musicians]]
[[Category:20th-century drummers]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship]]

Kishan Maharaj - Revision history

EverettJat at 22:43, 8 March 2026