Who is the greatest afterall??

 I am sharing some thoughts on a very interesting question that popped up on my Quora feed.

Are quartet- Ustad Bismillah Khan, Pandit Ravi Shankar, Pandit Shivkumar Sharma and Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, the greatest solo instrumental classical players of the time?

And here's what I think (Link to my actual answer):

Greatest is a very broad term. That said, three out of the four greats mentioned in this question are indeed peerless!

Ustad Bismillah Khan sahab is the only Indian Classical Musician to have received all 4 civilian awards (Padmashri, Padmabhushan, Padmavibhushan and Bharat Ratna). There had been no other shehnai player to match his stature.

Pt. Shivkumar Sharma is credited with making the santoor accepted as a Hindustani Classical Instrument by introducing the “gamak” & “meend” playing techniques.

Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia has unarguably taken the stature of the flute to amazing heights and firmly established this folk music as a classical instrument (It would be fair to mention that originally Pt. Pannalal Ghosh is credited to have brought the flute into the fols of classical music).

But but but…… As soon as one mentions the legendary Pt. Ravi Shankar, the discussion transforms into a debate similar to iPhone vs. android!

Without a doubt, Pt. Ravi Shankar put Indian Classical Music on the world map. He was a great collaborator and has single handedly taught the west how to appreciate Indian Classical Music.

That said, during the times of Pt. Ravi Shankar, there has existed another towering & mecurial personality that the Sitar world was blessed to have-

Some of you might have already guessed who that is. It is none other than USTAD VILAYAT KHAN sahab.

It is nearly impossible to compare Pt. Ravi Shankar & Ustad Vilayat Khan because both chose completely different paths to attaining musical nirvana. But calling one better than the other would be injustice. So just in this one instance, it is wise to let the status quo remain.

~~~~~~~~~~

So what do you think? Who according to you should wear the crown of "Greatest of them all"? Do share your thoughts in the comments.

If you enjoyed this content, show your support by buying me a ☕️ (click here)