Brij Bhushan Kabra facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Brij Bhushan Kabra
In concert at Delhi
Background information
Born	1937 Jodhpur, Jodhpur State, British India
Died	12 April 2018 (aged 81) Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India
Genres	Hindustani classical music
Instruments	lap slide guitar
Associated acts	Debashish Bhattacharya

Brij Bhushan Kabra (born 1937, died 2018) was an amazing Indian musician. He made the guitar a popular instrument in Indian classical music. He was the first person to play traditional Indian raga music on the guitar.

Brij Bhushan Kabra: The Guitar Maestro

Early Life and Musical Journey

Brij Bhushan Kabra was born in 1937 in Jodhpur, India. As a young person, he loved sports. He also enjoyed listening to Indian classical music. However, he didn't plan to become a musician. Instead, he studied to become a geologist.

Discovering the Lap Slide Guitar

One day, Kabra visited Kolkata. There, he found a special type of guitar called a lap slide guitar. This guitar is played by placing it on your lap. You use a metal slide to change the notes. He loved the sound and wanted to learn it.

He promised his father he would only play classical music on it. His father agreed! Kabra then moved to Ahmedabad, Gujarat. He taught himself by listening to music records. Later, he learned from the famous musician Ali Akbar Khan.

Making the Guitar His Own

Kabra made some cool changes to his guitar. He added extra strings called sympathetic and drone strings.

• Sympathetic strings vibrate on their own when other notes are played. This adds a rich, echoing sound.
• Drone strings play a continuous background note. This is common in Indian classical music.

These changes helped his guitar sound more like traditional Indian instruments.

Making History with the Guitar

Brij Bhushan Kabra became the first Indian musician to play raga on the guitar. A raga is like a musical scale or melody in Indian classical music. It has specific rules and emotions.

Famous Performances and Albums

Kabra started performing his unique guitar music for audiences. He also recorded a very successful album in 1967. It was called Call of the Valley. He made this album with two other amazing musicians:

• Hariprasad Chaurasia, who played the bansuri (a type of flute).
• Shivkumar Sharma, who played the santoor (a hammered dulcimer).

The guitar was not often used in Indian classical music before Kabra. But his special way of playing became very popular in the 1970s. Many people, including the "hippie" culture, loved his music.

Teaching and Later Years

Kabra recorded more solo albums over the years. From the 1990s, he focused a lot on teaching. He wanted to share his knowledge with new students. Even though he taught, he still continued to perform concerts.

Awards and Recognition

Brij Bhushan Kabra received several important awards for his music:

• He won the Rajasthan Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1983–84.
• He was made a fellow of the Rajasthan Sangeet Natak Akademi in 1995–96. This is a special honor.
• He received the national Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2005. This is one of India's highest honors for artists.

Brij Bhushan Kabra passed away on April 12, 2018, in Ahmedabad. He was 81 years old. His contributions changed how the guitar was seen in Indian classical music forever.

Images for kids

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  Brij Bhushan Kabra performing in Delhi.