KIRAN SADASHIV DESHPANDE Sangeet Natak Akademi Amrit Award: Hindustani Instrumental Music (Tabla)
Born on 28 June 1940 in Wadgaon, Vidarbha in Maharashtra, Shri Kiran Sadashiv Deshpande trained in Tabla under the tutelage of Shaikh Dawood Khan of Hyderabad, and in vocal music under Sakharam B. Deshpande and Sadashiv B. Deshpande. He is associated with the Delhi gharana, Farukhabad gharana and Ajarada gharana. He has been associated with institutions such as the Vivek Vardhini Sangeet Mahavidyalaya in Hyderabad, and Bhatkhande Sangeet Mahavidyalaya in Jabalpur. His academic qualifications include an M.A. in Vocal Music from Khairagarh University; M.A. in English Literature from Jabalpur University and a Sangeet Visharad in Vocal Music from the Akhil Bharatiya Gandharva Mahavidyalaya Mandal, Miraj.
Shri Deshpande has served as a Tabla teacher and then as a Lecturer in Bhatkhande Sangeet Mahavidyalaya in Jabalpur. He was the Professor of Music in the Government MLB Autonomous Girls College, Bhopal (1979 to 2002). He has been featured in the programme series "Shaksiyat" of Rajya Sabha TV. He has conducted and organized seminars in various Universities on the confluence of classical and folk music and their inter-relevance. He was a member of the Madhya Pradesh Kala Parishad and also served as the Trust member of the Bharat Bhavan, Bhopal. He has received the Junior and Senior Fellowship from the Department of Culture, Government of India.
Shri Deshpande has been conferred with the Shikhar Samman by the Government of Madhya Pradesh.
Shri Kiran Sadashiv Deshpande receives the Sangeet Natak Akademi Amrit Award for his contribution to Hindustani instrumental music.