Posted on 3 September 2026:

Suresh Gandharv: Indore Gharana’s Hindustani Classical Vocalist Honoured with Sangeet Natak Akademi Award 2025

A NATION BOWS TO A LIFETIME OF RIYAZ: SURESH GANDHARV RECEIVES THE CENTRAL SANGEET NATAK AKADEMI AWARD FROM HON’BLE PRESIDENT DROUPADI MURMU.

There are moments when an entire lifetime of quiet, disciplined devotion finds its voice in a single ceremony — and for Suresh Gandharv, that moment arrived in New Delhi, where the Hon’ble President of India, Droupadi Murmu, placed the prestigious Central Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (2025) in his hands. Amid a gathering of over one hundred celebrated artists honoured at this special investiture, Gandharv stood as a representative of a tradition far older than any stage — the Indore Gharana of Hindustani Classical Vocal music, carried forward note by note, raga by raga, across nearly five decades.

For most, an award is recognition. For a musician shaped in the ascetic discipline of classical riyaz, it is something quieter and deeper — a nation’s way of saying that a solitary, unwavering mission has been seen, heard and honoured. This latest laurel now takes its place among a constellation of earlier accolades, together forming a legacy stitched together by faith, rhythm and an unbroken thread of dedication to Hindustani Sangeet.

The Making of a Maestro

Suresh Gandharv’s musical lineage reads like a masterclass in classical pedigree. He trained under Prof. R.S. Bisht, a senior disciple of the legendary Ustad Amir Khan — placing Gandharv firmly within one of the most revered vocal traditions in Indian classical music. His gifts were announced themselves early: at just eleven years old, he was awarded the National Talent Search Scholarship in classical vocal music by the Government of India, a rare distinction for a child so young.

Yet Gandharv’s journey was never one-dimensional. Alongside his musical training, he pursued rigorous academic excellence, emerging as a Delhi University topper in both his M.A. and M.Phil. batches — a scholar’s mind wedded to an artist’s soul.

Since 1978, he has graced All India Radio and Doordarshan as an ‘A’ graded classical vocalist, his voice becoming a familiar, comforting presence across generations of listeners who tuned in for a taste of authentic Hindustani classical music.

A Legacy Written in Honours

Over the decades, recognition has followed Gandharv with quiet consistency. He holds the coveted TOP Grade classical vocalist status from All India Radio Delhi in 2024, and is empaneled as an artist of established category with the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), Government of India. His stature within the classical music community is further reflected in his role on the governing body of Pracheen Kala Kendra, and as a judge for both the Association of Indian Universities and the Akashvani Sangeet Pratiyogita.

His creative range extends beyond the concert stage — Gandharv composed music for the film Gulli Danda, lending his classical sensibilities to the world of cinema.

His honours form an impressive tapestry: the K.K.M.C.C. Dr. Radha Krishnan Samman conferred by Delhi’s Education Minister, the Sangeet Bhushan Samman from Navodit Kalakar Samiti, felicitation by the Lions Club, and recognition at the “Parampara” music festival hosted by Glorious Music Academy.

He has also been honoured by the Lok Kala Manch for his participation in “Glimpses of Indian Art & Culture,” an initiative of the Ministry of Culture, Government of India, and by the Sangeetacharya Pandit Chandra Shekhar Pant Committee.

In a testament to how far his art transcends the concert hall, Gandharv was also honoured at “Matdata Mahotsav,” an initiative of the Election Commission of India — a rare instance of classical music lending its voice to the cause of civic participation and democratic awareness.

RECENT PERFORMANCES: A VOICE THAT TRAVELS ACROSS INDIA’S SACRED MUSIC CIRCUITS

Even amid such recognition, Suresh Gandharv’s true home remains the stage — and in recent times, that stage has spanned the length and breadth of India’s most revered classical music festivals. He has performed at the Sankat Mochan Sangeet Samaroh 2025 in Varanasi, the Saptak Music Festival in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, the historic 141st Shri Baba Harivallabh Sangeet Sammelan, and the Tansen Sangeet Samaroh in Gwalior — the very city that gave Indian classical music its most celebrated legend.

His musical journey has also taken him to the Taj Mahotsav, the Raag Ameer festival, the Akashvani Sangeet Sammelan, and the grand Maha Sabha of Brahmrishi Shree Kumar Swami Ji — each performance a fresh offering at the altar of a tradition he has spent his life preserving.

Nurturing the Next Generation: Taan Tarang Sangeet Sabha

Beyond his own artistry, Suresh Gandharv has taken on the role of custodian for the future of Hindustani classical music. As founder of Taan Tarang Sangeet Sabha, he regularly organises musical concerts in Delhi that bring together veteran maestros and rising young talents on a shared platform — ensuring that the gharana tradition he inherited continues to find new voices and new listeners.

From a scholarship-winning child prodigy to a President’s Award-winning maestro, Suresh Gandharv’s story is one of unbroken dedication — a life lived entirely in service of a raga’s truth.

As the notes of the Indore Gharana continue to resonate through his voice, this Sangeet Natak Akademi Award stands not as a culmination, but as fresh affirmation that some devotions only deepen with time.