Manju Mehta | Photo courtesy: The Hindu Archives
Manju Mehta was not only a fine sitar player hailing from the Senia Maihar tradition, but also one of India’s most respected music patrons. She co-founded the country’s biggest music festival, the 13-day Saptak, which was launched in 1980. Through this event, Manju Mehta gave back to the world of classical music everything she had learnt from it as an artist.
Born on May 21, 1945 in Jaipur, Manju belonged to a family of musicians. Her parents were Hindustani singers. Both her brothers – Shashi Mohan Bhatt was adept at playing the sitar and Vishwa Mohan Bhatt was adept at the slide guitar (Mohan veena). Manju initially learned from her brother Shashi, but later trained under sitar maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar, who was also her brother’s guru.
Manju Mehta with guru Pandit Damodar Lal Kabra | Photo courtesy: Special arrangement
Manju also learned from Jodhpur’s sarod player Pandit Damodar Lal Kabra (Ustad Ali Akbar Khan’s first disciple) in the guru-shishya tradition. She often spoke about that intense period. RiyazHe would practice for about six hours every day, playing the same raga over and over again.
After marrying the tabla player Pandit Nandan Mehta (a disciple of the Banaras gharana doyen Pandit Kishan Maharaj), Manju moved to Ahmedabad and along with her husband built Saptak into a strong cultural organisation. She took a decade off from stage performances. After her husband’s untimely demise in 2010, she spent most of her time managing Saptak, especially its popular festivals, music school and archival section.
Manju Mehta during a demonstration. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
It would not be an exaggeration to say that the simple and affable Manju Mehta played a key role in promoting Hindustani music in Gujarat. She was the first female artist to be honoured with the Madhya Pradesh government’s Tansen Samman in 2018 and the Kolkata-based ITC Sangeet Research Academy Award in 2019. Maintaining the authentic baaz of her gharana focusing on the Dhrupad organ alaap and jor, Manju Mehta’s sitar playing stood apart for its traditional charm. Her daughter Poorvi plays sitar and Hetal carries forward the family’s musical legacy by playing tabla.
