Pandit Bhawani Shankar is known as a player of which instrument?

Explanation

Pandit Bhawani Shankar is one of the best-known pakhawaj players of India today. He is known for his powerful and imaginative playing, and he also plays the tabla and other percussion instruments.

Bhawani Shankar belongs to a family of musicians and learnt percussion from his family from childhood. He developed a versatile style that allows him to play in many settings. He accompanies leading musicians of Hindustani classical music, especially dhrupad singers and instrumentalists, and Kathak dancers, and he also performs solo pakhawaj recitals. Unlike many traditional pakhawaj players, he has also worked widely in film music, fusion music and collaborations with international musicians, which has brought the pakhawaj to new audiences. He has played for many film composers in Mumbai and has toured widely abroad.

The pakhawaj is a barrel-shaped, double-headed drum of North India and one of the oldest drums of Hindustani music. It is closely related to the mridangam of South India. It has a wooden body with leather heads on both ends; the right head has a black spot (syahi), and the left head is coated with wheat flour paste before playing, which gives it a deep, rich bass sound. It is played horizontally with both hands. The pakhawaj is the traditional accompanying instrument of dhrupad and dhamar singing, and it is also used in Kathak, temple music and devotional singing. A popular tradition says that the tabla was created by splitting the pakhawaj into two parts.

Famous pakhawaj players include Raja Chhatrapati Singh, Pandit Ramashish Pathak, Pandit Totaram Sharma and Pandit Dalchand Sharma.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Santoor is linked with Shivkumar Sharma and Bhajan Sopori.
• ✗Sarangi is linked with Ram Narayan and Sultan Khan.
• ✗Sitar is linked with Ravi Shankar and Vilayat Khan.