Pandit Prasad Khaparde
Pandit Prasad Khaparde is a Hindustani classical vocalist of international repute with a career spanning more than 30 years. Gifted with immense creativity and a powerful voice, his expositions of raga are rife with aesthetic and emotional content. Bearing the indelible mark of the Rampur Sahaswan Gharana, Khaparde’s music is a treat to both connoisseurs and the uninitiated alike. As a senior disciple of the late Ustad Rashid Khan, he carries both the technical discipline and the emotional warmth of that storied lineage, and has firmly established himself as one of the foremost Hindustani vocalists of his generation.
Khaparde was born in 1973 into a devoted music family in the small village of Ghatanji in the Yavatmal district of Maharashtra. His father Purushottamji and mother Sindhutai Khaparde always encouraged and motivated him to pursue music, and his musical journey commenced with formal music classes at a young age. His first triumph came when he gave his first public performance at the age of seven. He left his hometown at sixteen to deepen his musical education, studying under the proficient gurus of the Gwalior Gharana — Shri Bhalerao, Pandit D.V. Panke, and Pandita Sumantai Choudhari — before becoming a scholar at the ITC Sangeet Research Academy in Kolkata, where he came under the stewardship of Ustad Rashid Khan. He later graduated from Amravati University with a Master’s Degree in Indian classical vocal music in 1997.
A winner of the All India Radio competition and the Navras Record Award, Khaparde has performed extensively in major festivals across India. His concert appearances span some of the most prestigious platforms in the country, including the Sawai Gandharva Sangeet Mahotsav in Pune, the Saptak Festival in Ahmedabad, the Tansen Mahotsav in Gwalior, and the Kalidas Festival in Ujjain, among many others. Beyond classical stages, he has lent his voice to the Marathi film Thaang, directed by Amol Palekar, and has collaborated with international musicians including Suleyman Erguner and Nitin Sawhney. He is also an A-grade artist of All India Radio and an empanelled artist of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), Delhi, and has performed on MTV Coke Studio in cross-cultural fusions.
While Prasad Khaparde is deeply committed to preserving the pristine traditions of the Rampur Sahaswan Gharana, his analytical approach to classical music has enabled him to carve a distinctive niche for himself. His voice is marked by meticulous technical control over sargam and taankari, and his renditions carry a mellifluous quality that sets him apart. He presents compositions including the tarana, a hallmark form of the Rampur Sahaswan Gharana, blending rigorous classical discipline with a depth of emotion that speaks to listeners across all levels of musical familiarity. This balance of fidelity to tradition and thoughtful artistic exploration defines his enduring appeal on both the Indian and international stage.
