Tabla maestro Lachhu Maharaj's 74th birthday commemorated with a Google Doodle

Tabla virtuoso Lachhu Maharaj’s 74th birth anniversary has been marked with a special Google Doodle. The doodle has been designed by guest artist Sajid Shaikh. Born Lakshmi Narayan Singh, on this day in 1944, his musical career was perhaps predestined. He had a long musical lineage after all. Small wonder then, that Lachhu Maharaj (as he would later come to be known) took to the tabla at a young age, training under his father Vasudev Maharaj. He also began performing on stage and the prodigy soon caught the attention of legendary tabla player Ahmed Jaan Thirakwa. Lachhu Maharaj was only eight at the time. He would come to be known as the greatest exponent of the tabla from the Banaras gharana, giving concerts all over the world and having his work featured in films as well. “Lachhu Maharaj was best known for his inherent sense of rhythm which was best exemplified in his solo performances. Even though he played alongside nearly all the greatest tabla players of his time, his solo performance are the most remembered,” a statement issued by Google read. “Girija Devi, whom he often collaborated with, claimed that ‘he would play for hours without repeating himself, new gats, tukras and parans, leaving his audiences awestruck’.” In 1957, he was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, the highest award for performing artists, by India’s National Academy for Music, Dance and Drama. The tabla maestro was even nominated for a Padma Shri, notes ANI. However, he refused to accept the accolade as he felt the appreciation he had received from his many listeners was more than enough recognition of his contribution to Indian classical music. Lacchu Maharaj passed away in July 2016 in Varanasi at the age of 72, after a prolonged illness.