Baluji Shrivastav OBE

Baluji Shrivastav OBE is an Indian multi-instrumentalist and one of the world’s leading composers and sitar players. He has performed and recorded with some of the greatest tabla accompanists such as Anindo Chatterji and Ustad Fayaz Khan. He has worked with a wide variety of artists including Stevie Wonder, Coldplay, Massive Attack. His compositions feature in a wide spectrum of films, theatre and television. The documentary film ‘Baluji’ about his life and work was directed by Marie-Cecile Embleton and has been screened at the New York Film Festival & the Auroville Film Festival in India.

Baluji and his wife, musician and writer Linda Shanson, established the Baluji Music Foundation in 2008 to increase opportunities for blind and visually impaired people. They founded the Inner Vision Orchestra of professional blind and visually impaired musicians in 2012. Baluji has been blind since the age of 8 months. Baluji was awarded the OBE in the Queen’s 90th Birthday Honours List for services to music and in 2016 was given the GG2 Award for Overcoming Adversity. In 2017, Times Group India awarded him the accolade of Non-Resident Indian of the Year for Art and Culture. In 2019 Baluji received the prestigious Hind Rattan Award-Jewel of India from the Indian Government.

Baluji Shrivastav delivered a captivating performance at the Darbar Festival in 2023, alongside tabla maestro Sukhdeep Dhanjal. The duo presented a series of healing ragas, known for their therapeutic and spiritual qualities. Baluji’s mastery of the sitar, combined with Sukhdeep’s rhythmic finesse on the tabla, created a soothing and transformative atmosphere. Their collaboration beautifully showcased the power of Indian classical music to heal and uplift, offering the audience a deeply meditative and enriching experience.

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