Manilal Nag Biography 
Manilal Nag Nag is a well-known sitarist and musician from West Bengal. He is the son of veteran sitarist, Sangeetacharya Gokul Nag. He follows 300-year old Vishnupur Gharana of Bengal as a percussionist. His daughter Mita Nag belongs to the family with strong musical tradition and she is the sixth generation sitar player from her family. Mita received early training from her mother who was also a disciple of Gokul Nag, and from the age of 6 from her father Manilal Nag. For his contributions towards the field of Indian music, government of India honoured Manilal Nag with Sangeet Natak Akademy Award in 2001.
Manilal was born in Bankura in the state of present day West Bengal on 16 August 1939 into a family of centuries old musical tradition. Manilal belongs to the fifth generation of musicians from the family, who follow Vishnupur Gharana of Bengal. Born as the son of Sangeetacharya Gokul Nag, he inherited the music talents from his father, and made his first public appearance in the All India Music Conference of 1953. Samta Prasad accompanied him on tabla for his debut performance on stage. Since then he has been regular in music festivals and cultural events across India, and also National Programme of Music and Akashvani Sangeet Sammelan since 1954.
In 1973 he was invited to US and other European Countries through the I.C.C.R for performance, and in 1979 to Australia. He has been associated with the prestigious ITC Sangeet Research Academy from 2005 to 2011. He is a recipient of numerous honours including Sangeet Natak Akademy Award and Senior Fellowship Award from India's Ministry of Culture. He has also released numerous discs over the years.
Published: September 26, 2018
Updated: September 26, 2018
