Deepak Kshirsagar

PLAYS

Classical slide guitar

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GHARANA

Kirana

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Deepak Kshirsagar is a slide guitarist, vocalist and composer in Indian classical music, rooted in the Gwalior gharana. Born into the Kshirsagar family in Jodhpur, he began training in vocal and instrumental music at a young age under his grandfather Pt. B. N. Kshirsagar and his father Dr. Dattatreya Kshirsagar, both of the Gwalior gharana, and later trained in slide guitar under Pt. Satish Khanwalkar. Drawing on his vocal background, he brings gayaki ang to the instrument and balances bandishes in madhya-laya with instrumental gats. In his vocal renditions he is influenced by the Jaipur gharana alongside his family's Gwalior-Kirana gharana. He holds that instruments such as the Mohan Veena, Satvik Veena and Chaturangi are primarily guitars and should be called the Indian classical guitar, just as one says sitar or sarod. The Pioneer wrote that he "is a lesson for all who give lack of a guru as the excuse for not performing well", and The Hindu that he "has a great heart and a fertile imagination". A top-graded artiste of All India Radio (AIR) and Doordarshan, he has received various national and state awards. He holds a master's degree in music and studied English literature at J.N.V. University, Jodhpur, obtaining a gold medal. In 2014 he resigned as senior assistant professor in music at The M.S. University of Baroda, and he now nurtures 'Aalap - the Gurukul of Music' and the B. N. Kshirsagar Foundation, a platform for talented young musicians.