Shri Venkatsubrao Ganesh Karnad (born on 22nd September, 1925 in Karnataka) was brought up in an atmosphere where the soulful songs of Purandardasa, the greatest poet-saint of the South were sung everyday. For the young Karnad however, the bansuri held the greatest attraction – his inspiration being Palladam Sanjeev Rao, the ace flautist of the South. Karnad’s desire to play the cylindrical bamboo then was, to some extent, fulfilled through a crude prototype made by himself.

A good job brought Karnad to Bombay, giving him an opportunity to intensify his search for a guru in the wood wind instrument. A search that culminated in a fruitful meeting in February 1949 with the pioneering flute maestro, Pannalal Ghosh who commenced tuitions in right earnest.

Expert tutelage and rigorous practice, combined with a profound reverence for his guru, has moulded Karnad into an accomplished artiste. His deft fingers coax out of his bansuri, music in all it’s richness of idiom and serenity of expression. A radio artiste since 1954, Karnad’s talents were noticed by critics and cognoscenti after his performance in the Sur-Singar Samsad’s Swami Haridas Sangeet Sammelan in 1958. Karnad is no stranger to music concerts and TV. He has also performed extensively during a tour of European countries in 1960. In the year 1982, Karnad made a visit to the UK and USA, where he gave 45 concerts and all were widely appreciated by the connoisseurs.

In 1986, one of the senior most Guru-bhais of Karnad from Dhaka, Bangladesh, invited him to perform in a programme organized to commemorate the 75th birth anniversary of their guru, the late Shri Pannalal Ghosh. Karnad earned a lot of appreciation and accolade as a worthy disciple of the great flute maestro. Two-three flautists of Bangladesh also became his disciples and make frequent visits to India to have flute lessons from him even today. Following this, Karnad made two more visits to Bangladesh in 1987 and 1992 when he entertained the music lovers of Chittagong, Rajashahi and in a few cultural organizations of Dhaka. Karnad still continues to give free tuitions to those genuinely interested in flute as a missionary act, and freely distributes the knowledge he received from his guru.

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Maharashtra.