Charanjit Lal was born in 1957 in New Delhi, is the eldest son of the late Pt. Chatur Lal, one of Indias greatest tabla Maestros in history. Charanjit began his training as a child with his father and then continued with his father’s guru, Ustad Abdul Hafiz Ahmed Khan of Udaipur.
Charanjit Lal exhibits a depth of the feeling that is immediately recognizable. However, as a classical musician he is a purist, and never forsakes tradition merely to excite an unknowing audience. Musicians and critics agree that he performs traditional compositions with extra-ordinary clarity and has a beautiful tonal quality, both characteristics being reminiscent of his father playing. In addition he performs the same difficult and exciting rhythmic patterns his father was famous for.
Photo by: Avinash Pasricha
Charanjit Lal gave his first performance at the age of 10 in 1967 at Bombay which was greatly appreciated by the audience and following year he has the privilege of performing at Muktanand’s Ashram at Ganesh Puri. In 1970, Charanjit started giving tabla solo recitals on All India Radio, Delhi for the Youth Program. In 1972, he was announced as ‘B’ High Grade artist and started performing regularly.
In the Spring of 1978, Charanjit Lal accompanied his uncle, Pt. Ram Narayan on a tour throughout Europe. The following he taught Tabla at San Francisco State University as part of their 1978 Summer World Music Program. During that time Charanjit Lal performed in a number of concerts on the West Coast. In the fall of 1979, he went to Europe for an extensive tour that included 47 concerts in 5 countries. He returned to San Francisco during the summer of 1980 where he taught tabla and performed several solo concerts. In 1984, he was sent to Mauritius by ICCR to teach tabla for one year in the University of Mauritius. Later in the winter of 1985, Charanjit Lal was invited to play tabla solo at the“Festival Of India&rdquo in Muscat. He then toured Mexico, South America and United States Of America in 1986 with Pt. Ram Narayan. In this tour he not only accompanied but regularly performed tabla solos. During 1987-88, he was on a tour of 22 cities in USA on invitation of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s Transcendental Meditation Centre. In Oct. 1988, he went on a Reunion tour to Mauritius, Madagascar with Pt. Uma Shankar Mishra.
In 1990, Charanjit Lal founded a society in the name of his beloved father to revive his memory through the medium of “Pandit Chatur Lal Memorial Society” Since then, the society has been organizing concerts with the greatest musicians of the country. On 9th April, 1994, he was honored with the “ Sangeet Raj ”Award.
Since 1999, he has been touring the United States Of America once or twice a year for lecture-demonstration concerts in colleges and Universities and for teaching private classes. His son Pranshu Lal is performing regularly in front of audiences of thousands since the tender age of 12. His daughter Shruti Lal and his wife Meeta Lal are excellent promoters of Classical Indian Music in India and abroad, and their organization,
