| Niladri Kumar | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Niladri Kumar |
| Born | 1973 (age 38–39) |
| Genres | Indian classical music, World, Fusion |
| Instruments | sitar, zitar |
| Years active | 2002–present |
| Website | Official website |
Niladri Kumar (born 1973) is an Indian classical and fusion musician. He performed on the sitar from a young age and toured and released albums as an adult. He created a unique instrument, a modified sitar, which he named zitar.
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Born to sitar player Kartick Kumar, a disciple of Ravi Shankar. He is considered a child prodigy. He started learning sitar under his father at the age of four. Kumar gave his first public performance at the age of six at Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry.[1]
Niladri Kumar began his career with music directors Laxmikant-Pyarelal in late 1980s.[1] He was part of the Masters of the Percussion tour alongside Zakir Hussain.[2] Kumar has also worked with Jonas Hellborg and V. Selvaganesh on their album Kali's Son[3] and with John McLaughlin on album Floating Point.[4] Kumar has also worked with various music directors in Hindi cinema, including A.R. Rehman, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and Pritam.[1] Niladri was conferred the Sangeet Natak Akademi's Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar, awarded to young musicians, in March 2007.[5] Niladri has also won MTV Immies award for the Best Classical/Fusion Instrumental for his album If.[1]
Kumar has created a unique instrument "zitar" which is a combination of sitar and guitar.[6] The concept initiated from a traveling sitar, which was modified by Kumar to create rock guitar sound out of it. Kumar reduced the number of strings on the instrument from 20 to five. He also added an electric pickup inside the instrument so that it would sound more like a guitar.[1] His first full album composed using the instrument, titled Zitar, was released in 2008.[7] Kumar wrote the first track for the album Priority in 2003. Over the next five years he improved the track and subsequent track by gauging audience reaction during live performances. He improvised the tracks adding components from various genres such as rock, electronic and lounge.[1]