Google Doodle: Google celebrates eminent tabla player Lachhu Maharaj's birth anniversary with a doodle
Google today celebrates eminent tabla player Lachhu Maharaj's birth anniversary, with a Doodle. Lachhu Maharaj, also known as Lakshmi Narayan Singh, was born on October 16 in 1944, in a family of musicians. Lachhu Maharaj trained hard under his father Vasudev Maharaj to become one of the most celebrated tabla players of his time. While training under the tutelage of his father, Lachhu Maharaj put his skills to the test and started to perform at an early age.
As a child, his performances caught the attention of Ahmed Jaan Thirakwa, who was considered to be a legendary tabla player of his time. Lachhu Maharaj was just eight years old at the time
Lachhu Maharaj was known for his inherent sense of rhythm and this was best seen through his solo performances. He played alongside and performed with nearly all of his contemporary tabla players. Despite this, he was best known for his solo performances.
"He would play for hours without repeating himself, new gats, tukras and parans, leaving his audiences awestruck," said prominent classical singer Girija Devi, on the hardwork he put into his tabla playing.
For his contribution to music and tabla playing, Lachhu Maharaj was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1957, which is the highest award for performing artists. Lachhu Maharaj was presented this award by the country's National Academy for Music, Dance and Drama.
Google celebrates his birth anniversary today with the doodle made by guest artist Sajid Shaikh. The doodle has Lachhu Maharaj drawn with the Google logo's primary colours in blue, red, yellow and green. Lachhu Maharaj is seen on the Google Doodle playing the tabla for his audience, with a grin on his face and a look of contentment on his eyes.