Sudhir Nayak (, , born 15 May 1972) is an Indian classical Harmonium player, a disciple of Pandit Tulsidas Borkar and Pandit Jitendra Abhisheki. Sudhir has the honour of having performed along with Pandit Bhimsen Joshi and Shubha Mudgal at the Central Hall of the Parliament of India
Early life
Sudhir Nayak (b. 15 May 1972) was born to Kota Sarvottam Nayak and Suvarny Nayak in Mumbai. His parents hailing from the South Canara district of Coastal Karnataka, later moved to Mumbai.
His father K. S. Nayak retired from his services as a Banker with Canara Bank and is currently engaged in the practice and propagation of Vipassana meditation under the aegis of the Vipassana International Academy.
Sudhir's mother, Suvarny Nayak is also engaged in teaching music and also performs religious and devotional songs in Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, Konkani, etc. through music concerts.
Sudhir Nayak holds a bachelor's degree in Commerce from Pune university studying at MES's Garware College of Commerce, Pune.
Music education
Following his father's inclination, Sudhir was introduced to Indian music at the age of eleven, when Sudhir and his brother started learning the Tabla from Pandit Madhukar Samant of Goregaon, Mumbai at his music class named ‘Swar- Ninad’ which facilitated Sudhir to listen and relate to sounds of different musical instruments taught at the class. In the meantime, he also got acquainted with Hindustani Raag Sangeet through Pandit Pundalik Prabhu who used to visit their residence to teach vocal music to his mother.
But Sudhir's actual initiation in Music followed his association with the legendary Harmonium maestro Pandit Tulsidas Borkar in 1983 when Borkarji started frequenting to his residence to teach Marathi Natya Sangeet to his mother. The captivating persona of Pandit Tulsidas Borkar and the subtle touches used by him while playing the Harmonium coupled with the grace with which he approached the instrument, deeply attracted young Sudhir to pursue learning the art from him. Seeing Sudhir's fascination, Borkarji accepted Sudhir as his disciple which enabled Sudhir to learn and imbibe the stylistic techniques used by his Guru and grand Guru Pandit P. Madhukar (Madhukar Pednekar) greatly influencing and enriching Sudhir's style of exploring the Harmonium as a solo instrument apart from playing it as an accompanying instrument for vocal music.
Another great turn in Sudhir's life was his association with legendary vocalist and composer Pandit Jitendra Abhisheki, whose music and versatility greatly inspired Sudhir's journey as a student of music. His taleem from Panditji in Pune from 1988 till his demise in 1998 allowed Sudhir to gain knowledge of the intricacies of Hindustani Raag Sangeet and the nuances in the styles and approach of different Gharanas and Gayakis. Sudhir also accompanied Pandit Jitendra Abhisheki on the harmonium for his vocal concerts and also assisted him in composing music for different projects. Sudhir also benefitted from the guidance he received from Shri. Jayant Keshav Watve and Shri. Bhaurao Mahadev Pawar, for a brief period, while in Pune.
Career
At an early age, Sudhir had the honour of accompanying stalwarts in the field of Indian Music like Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, Pt. Jitendra Abhisheki, Pt. Firoz Dastur, Pt. Ram Ashreya Jha, Pt.Yastwantbuva Joshi, Pt. Babanrao Haldankar, Pt. Jasraj, Smt. Gangubai Hangal, Smt. Padmavati Shaligram, Dr. Prabha Atre, Smt. Shobha Gurtu, Pt. Birju Maharaj, to name a few. He is also regularly associated with contemporary musicians like Smt. Shubha Mudgal, Pt.Rajan & Sajan Misra, Pt. Ajoy Chakravarty, Ustad Rashid Khan, Pt. Ulhas Kashalkar, Dr. Aneesh Pradhan, Shounak Abhisheki, Ashwini Bhide-Deshpande, Devaki Pandit, Arati Tikekar among many others.
Sudhir's musical performances are regularly featured on Indian television and commercial recordings. He has also performed widely in the US, the UK, the USSR, Canada, Mexico, Europe, Australia, Africa, the Far Eastern and the Middle Eastern countries.
Sudhir is equally at home with harmonium solo renditions as he is with accompaniment and has composed music for many musical productions.
Sudhir also participates in cross-cultural collaborations being a part of the ensemble ‘Koshish’.
Sudhir has also composed music for many projects and albums which have been recorded and published commercially