Sharan Rani Backliwal Biography 
Sharan Rani Backliwal was a renowned sarod player and music scholar from Delhi who lived during the period, 9 April 1929 – 8 April 2008. According to former PM Jawaharlal Nehru, she was the "Cultural Ambassador of India". Known as a music scholar she wrote a number of articles on music. She owned a huge collection of 379 different musical instruments ranging from the 15th to the 19th century. Now her personal collection is a part of "Sharan Rani Backliwal Gallery of Musical Instruments" at the National Museum, New Delhi.
Sharan Rani Backliwal was born in Delhi on 9 April 1929. Her maiden name is Sharan Rani Mathur. Many of her family members are well-known businessmen and educationists of Delhi. She learnt the string instrument Sarod from renowned artists - Allauddin Khan and his son Ali Akbar Khan during her childhood days, and later pursued a professional career in this field. As she belonged to a conservative Hindu family, she faced resistance and opposition from her family members. She didn’t own a musical background, and in those days only musical family followed that tradition. So it was not easy for her to convince her family.
Sharan Rani also learnt Kathak and Manipuri dance forms. She completed her post-graduation from Delhi University. She started her career as a musician and performer in the late 1930s and was associated with the field over 7 decades till her death in 2008. She was also a regular artist in AIR and Doordarshan, and one of the early artists too. She was one of the very first to record for UNESCO and foreign countries like Britain, US and France.
Published: January 07, 2019
Updated: January 07, 2019
