Rakesh Chaurasia

Some Lesser Known Facts About Rakesh Chaurasia

• Rakesh Chaurasia, an Indian flautist renowned for his mastery of the bansuri, an Indian bamboo flute, is the nephew of the celebrated flautist Hariprasad Chaurasia. In 2023, he achieved recognition by winning two Grammy Awards at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards.

• When he was around five years old, he was influenced by seeing his uncle Hariprasad Chaurasia playing the flute. Rakesh embarked on his musical journey at the age of five, displaying a natural talent for the bansuri. Under his uncle’s guidance and encouragement, Rakesh developed his skills in playing the flute. He soon started performing in public, earning high praise from audiences.

  

• In 2001, Rakesh Chaurasia collaborated with tabla player Yogesh Samsi to release an album titled ‘Parables of Passion – Farewell.’

• Rakesh Chaurasia has a diverse discography, featuring albums such as ‘Mystic Soundscapes Wind’ (2007), ‘Call of the Divine’ (2013), ‘Finesse On Flute’ (2019), and ‘ZaRa’ (2022).

  

• He received an invitation to conclude the twenty-four-hour live music broadcast on BBC radio, celebrating Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth’s Silver Jubilee and reaching a global audience.

• He has shared the stage with renowned Indian tabla player Zakir Hussain, participating in various musical events not only in India but also in overseas countries like Japan, China, England, and Greece.

  

• In an interview, Rakesh Chaurasia expressed that if he hadn’t pursued a career as a flautist, he would have become a driver because of his love for driving.

• Rakesh Chaurasia has expressed his desire to share the stage and perform alongside the American smooth jazz saxophonist Kenny G.

• In November 2019, Rakesh Chaurasia took part in a 12.5 km marathon and earned a medal.

  

• In an interview, when discussing his practice routine, he shared,
  

  I prefer to practise in the mornings because it’s much quieter no mobile, no phone calls. With no external disturbances, the practice becomes much more focused. One can focus on every note, you can feel the vibrations, you know.”

• In February 2023, he was featured on the cover of Passion Vista magazine.

  

• He is passionate about fitness and is frequently seen exercising at a gym.

  

• In an interview, he recounted a memorable incident from one of his music performances and he shared,
  

  Every concert is memorable, we at least try to make it memorable (laughs) but I can remember a concert in Nagpur where towards the end, we had no electricity, but I didn’t realise it because I was very engrossed in my playing. It was surprising to see newspapers splashing this fact the next day. I feel the times when you get engrossed in your playing so much that you forget about everything else that happens once in your lifetime. Normally what happens is that if the sound is gone, we stop, because there’s a big drop but I couldn’t recognise there was no sound, the audience too had maintained pin-drop silence so I enjoyed and the audience too enjoyed it.”

• He is often spotted consuming alcohol in public.