Neel Ranjan Mukherjee

Neel Ranjan Mukherjee, a prime disciple of legendary Sitar maestro Pandit Debu Chaudhuri “Padmabhushan Awardee”, is the one & only performer playing Indian classical music on the traditional Hawaiian Guitar over two decades. He enthrals his audiences with 7 (seven) main strings & 4 (four) octaves without adding any extra strings like sympathetic or drone in it, which is a rare phenomenon. His natural sense of music & melody of the Raagas & limitless guidance of his guru made him the finest musician of the present era. Being trained under the strict discipline of Senia Jaipur Gharana, Neel is a traditionalist but his style of presentation illustrates his own brilliance & always leaves an impression to the audience’s heart which shows his mastery & individuality. His tuneful sparkling fingers depict both Tantakari (instrumental) & Gayaki (vocal) style. Apart from his excellence in performances Neel has successfully trained number of students on Hawaiian guitar, Santoor, Sitar and Vocal across the country who are performing successfully in India and abroad.
This talented young musician is a Winner of Uttar Pradesh Sangeet Natak Academy ‘State Music Competition’ in the year 1996 & 1999 and received ‘State Scholarship’ from the former Governor of Uttar Pradesh, Delhi state scholarship from Sahitya Kala Parishad in the year 2003 for Hawaiian guitar and National Scholarship from Human Resource and Development, Ministry of Culture, Government of India in the year 2001 for Hawaiian guitar & in the year 2003 for Santoor.
Recipient of Prabhakar degree from Prayag Sangeet Samiti and Sangeet Shiromani from University of Delhi, Neel Ranjan has performed in many prestigious festivals in India and abroad & represented Delhi in a number of occasions including National Youth Festival organized by the state government of Kerala & Jharkhand, State Youth Festival, Delhi, organized by the Sahitya Kala Parishad, (government of National Capital Territory of Delhi).
He has been invited as a visiting faculty in a very prestigious music academy "SAAZ O AAWAAZ" in Toronto, Canada and has been awarded by the member of parliament of Canada for his outstanding performance & contribution in Indian classical music. As an empanelled artist of Indian Council for Cultural Relations he has been fortunate to perform for Indian consulate Dubai (United Arab Emirates) and High Commission of India, Bangladesh and National Press Club, Bangladesh.
He regularly performs for All India Radio, Delhi as an enlisted artist. As a regular examiner of Uttar Pradesh Sangeet Natak Academy (Lucknow) since 2001 he has been invited to judge the competitions organized by them. His live performance was recorded by the central Sangeet Natak Academy (Delhi) for their archives in 2005. He is also a regular faculty member at Ustad Mushtaq Ali Khan centre for culture, New Delhi, since 2001. He has conducted music workshops as a director in the year 2007, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 & 2015 organized by the Sahitya Kala Parishad. He has performed with his Guru Pandit Debu Chaudhuri in a number of occasions including SPIC MACAY, National Council of Educational Research and Training, Indian Council for Cultural Relations & in the Central Hall (Parliament house) to celebrate 60th years of Indian parliament, New Delhi, Sangeet Natak Academy Archive & many other festivals. He mesmerized the audiences in Horizon Series program organized by Indian Council of Cultural Relations in New Delhi in 2012, in Bhopal and Bhubaneswar in 2014 by his brilliant solo Hawaiian guitar recital and as well as through his project Strings N Steps. He enthralled His Holiness Param Pujya Swami Chidanand Saraswati at Parmarth Niketan (Rishikesh) & His Holiness Param Pujya Shankaracharya at Varanasi and has got their valuable blessings. He has been fortunate to perform for the former Chief Minister of Delhi Smt. Sheila Dikshit at Chief Minister's house, Delhi & former Lieutenant Governor of Delhi Shri Tejendra Khanna at Raj Niwas (Lt. Governor's house, Delhi). He has performed for the SAARC delegates & in front of the former Chief Election Commissioner Shri S.Y.Quiresy at New Delhi. His performance has been recorded and broadcast by National channel of All India Radio, New Delhi. He has been interviewed by Doordarshan (National Television) & All India Radio, New Delhi. He has composed many vocal orchestras & recorded music for fusion bands. He has recorded audio albums with Guitar monk (4 cd's) & EMI (1 cd) and many more.
He is the Director of the exclusive venture presenting two poles together through a creative project “STRINGS N STEPS”, New Delhi, India.