The life
Biography
A riyaz household in Jamnagar, a gold medal at Baroda, four gurus, and two decades of playing.
Jamnagar, 1991
A riyaz household
Bhagirathkumar Pankajbhai Bhatt was born in Jamnagar, Gujarat, on 31 May 1991, and began learning the sitar at the age of six. He went to school at Shree Satya Sai Vidyalay in the same city.
His father, Pankajkumar Dineshchandra Bhatt, is a singer and tabla player who has been part of Pujya Morari Bapu's Ram Katha ensemble for more than forty-five years. Music in that house was not a lesson taken after school; it was the shape of the day.
He went on to take a Gold Medal in sitar performance from the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda.
The instrument was in the room before there was a decision to play it.
Training
Four teachers, three lineages
His training runs through four teachers. Shree Chetan Shastri set the foundation. From Ustad Abdul Halim Jaffer Khan came the Jafferkhani baaj - a way of drawing gayaki, the vocal line, out of the wire. From Ustad Shahid Parvez came the Etawah, or Imdadkhani, gharana, with its long meend and its insistence on tone. Ustad Asad Khan added a further layer of repertoire and approach.
Cinema
From the baithak to the recording room
Since 2010 the sitar has taken him into film and series work, playing on scores for Hindi and Gujarati cinema and for streaming series, alongside composers and singers including A. R. Rahman, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Arijit Singh, Sonu Nigam, Ajay-Atul and Shankar Mahadevan.
The list of titles is on the discography page. The short version: a great deal of it is one player, one instrument, and a click track.
Studio work is classical training used quietly - the same tone, in four bars.
Devotional
A decade of katha
For more than a decade he has played live sitar for Ram Katha, Bhagvat Katha and Shiv Mahapuran gatherings - the tradition he grew up inside, now from the other side of the instrument.
The years
A line through the work
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1991
Born in Jamnagar, Gujarat
Born 31 May 1991 into a household where his father sang and played tabla in Pujya Morari Bapu's Ram Katha ensemble.
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1997
First sitar lesson, age six
Formal study begins alongside schooling at Shree Satya Sai Vidyalay, Jamnagar.
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Gold Medal, M. S. University of Baroda
Gold Medal in sitar performance from the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda.
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Study with four gurus
Shree Chetan Shastri; Ustad Abdul Halim Jaffer Khan (Jafferkhani baaj); Ustad Shahid Parvez (Etawah / Imdadkhani gharana); Ustad Asad Khan.
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2010
Professional work begins
Session and concert work from 2010 onward.
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2018
Padmaavat
Sitar on the score.
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2020
Bandish Bandits
Sitar for the Prime Video series.
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Sitar concert in Leicester
A solo concert at the Sanatan Mandir, Leicester - one of a run of dates outside India.
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Coke Studio Bharat - “Meetha Khaara”
Sitar on the Coke Studio Bharat release.
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2024
Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar
Sitar for the Netflix series.
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2025
Bhoomi
Release.
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2026
On stage with Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty
Accompanying the vocalist in concert.
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2026
Border 2
Announced.
Lineage
What was handed down
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Shri Pankajkumar Dineshchandra Bhatt
श्री पंकजकुमार दिनेशचंद्र भट्ट
Father and first guru
A singer and tabla player in Pujya Morari Bapu's Ram Katha ensemble - at home, music was the shape of the day.
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Shree Chetan Shastri
श्री चेतन शास्त्री
Early training
The foundation: sitting position, mizrab stroke, and the first years of repertoire.
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Ustad Abdul Halim Jaffer Khan
उस्ताद अब्दुल हलीम जाफ़र ख़ाँ
Jafferkhani baaj
The Jafferkhani approach - drawing the vocal line, gayaki, out of the wire.
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Ustad Shahid Parvez
उस्ताद शाहिद परवेज़
Etawah / Imdadkhani gharana
Long meend, tonal weight, and the gharana's discipline of phrasing.
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Ustad Asad Khan
उस्ताद असद ख़ाँ
Repertoire and approach
Further repertoire and a widened sense of what the instrument can carry.
Bhagirath Bhatt
भगीरथ भट्ट
The instrument
Seven parts of a sitar
Press kit
Downloads
- Press kit (PDF) Biography, credits, high-resolution stills and contact details in one file. On request
- Hi-res portraits (ZIP) Print-resolution photographs, cleared for editorial use with credit. On request
- Technical rider (PDF) Stage plan, microphone preference, monitoring and sound-check timing. On request
- One-page biography (PDF) A short biography for programmes and listings. On request
Enquiries
Invite the sitar to your stage
Concerts, studio sessions, music direction and workshops. Tell us the date and the room, and you will get a straight answer.