Raju

A 32-year-old talented artist from Manna Lal’s group has been learning music through classical and folk art forms. At the young age of 10, he began to play dholak by taking inspiration from his father who used to play dholak. He has been working hard towards achieving mastery in his craft and pursues it with tremendous passion. He considers his father as his guru speaks very highly of their teachings and achievements in music. Most of his songs are made to be in a similar style. He also believes that music has been passed on to him by his father, who had a natural talent for mastering the art of playing dholak. When he was a child, he would imitate his father and thus picked up the dholak and never stopped learning. He also knows how to play Kartal and Jhaal apart from dholak and has performed in various locations. He has pulled off brilliant performances at music events only to dazzle the crowds. He lives in a family of six people and has two daughters and parents. Thus, he also has to work as a barber to make ends meet. Despite all his struggles, he strives to keep developing his craft and dreams to educate his audience about this artform. Someday in the future, he sees himself succeed through the art that he loves so much.

• Purvanchal
• Uttar Pradesh