Onkar Nath, 69, is an artist in the folk music spectrum of Braj in Uttar Pradesh and belongs to the Naayee community. He hails from Raya village of Mathura district. After the demise of his wife, he lives with his four sons & one Daughter. He has studied till 5th grade and has been into music from a very young age. He has grown up seeing his father play Dholak, and after his demise, he had to leave his education and took music as his full-time profession. Onkar has received his training in music from Haridas Sangeet Kala Kendra under the mentorship of Pt. Jagannath Prasad Sharma. All his life, he has accompanied various artists from the region like Haribabu Kaushik, whom he also considers as one of his biggest inspirations, and Damodar Sharma, with whom he has performed since the ’90s. He also happens to be Pt. Damadar Sharma ‘s Guru in folk music. During his years so far, he has performed in many cities and cherishes his memories of performing in Shivpuri, Rampur, Mathura, Delhi, Surat, Gwalior the most. He has no managers but currently plays the harmonium only with Pt. Damodar Sharma and believes in him wholeheartedly. He does not have any specific demand in terms of payment and accepts whatever gets offered. Ever since he was a child, all Onkar has known is music, and he wishes to die the same way, with music, while listening to it. His father passed away when he was a 7-year-old, and ever since, the only thing he understood and believed in is music. He hopes that in his dying age, he at least gets the Artist pension from the government.
- Braj
- Uttar Pradesh