Buddhadev Das Gupta was a well-known exponent of which instrument?

Explanation

Pandit Buddhadev Das Gupta (1933-2018) was one of the most respected sarod players of Hindustani classical music. He belonged to the Senia-Shahjahanpur gharana and was known for his scholarly and traditional approach to music.

Buddhadev Das Gupta was born in Bhagalpur, Bihar, and grew up in Kolkata. He learnt the sarod from Pandit Radhika Mohan Maitra, a great sarod player and scholar of the Shahjahanpur tradition, under whom he trained for many years. Unusually for a classical musician, he was also a trained engineer and worked for many years in an engineering career while continuing to perform and teach music. He was known for his clean and precise playing, his deep knowledge of ragas, and his ability to combine the old traditions of dhrupad-based instrumental music with the modern style of the sarod. He trained many students and wrote and spoke about music. He received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award and the Padma Bhushan (2012) for his contribution to music.

The sarod is a fretless, plucked string instrument of Hindustani music. It has a wooden body covered with goatskin, a metal fingerboard and sympathetic strings, and it is played with a plectrum made of coconut shell. Because it has no frets, the player can slide smoothly between notes. The sarod is believed to have developed from the Afghan rabab, which was brought to India by Afghan musicians. Famous sarod players include Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Ustad Hafiz Ali Khan, Pandit Radhika Mohan Maitra and Pandit Buddhadev Das Gupta.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Sitar is linked with Ravi Shankar and Vilayat Khan.
• ✗Santoor is linked with Shivkumar Sharma.
• ✗Shehnai is linked with Bismillah Khan.