Sri Kuber Nath Mishra, one of the foremost tabla artists of Banaras (or Varanasi), was born in October 1964 into a very musical family, the son of the great Banarasi vocalist Pandit Pashupathi Nath Mishra. Though he was surrounded by music from his first days, he began his formal musical studies at the age of 7 with vocal training from both his father and grandfather, Pt. Mahadev Prasad Mishra. With this strong and necessary foundation in vocal music, he eventually made the switch to tabla, studying first with his maternal grandfather Pt. Samata Prasad Mishra (aka Gudai Maharaj). He quickly showed very fast and steady progress, and soon began his higher training with his guru, Pt. Ramji Mishra (the son of Pt. Anokhe Lal Mishra, the great tabla maestro of Banaras). Something of a prodigy, even in such impressive company as he was at home, Kuber-ji was and is the leading member of the Banaras gharana in his generation, and performed frequently throughout his formative years.
Sri Kuber Nath Mishra has completed Sangeet Prabhaker from Prayag Sangeet Samiti, and currently holds a post as a tabla artist in the Faculty of Performing Arts at Banaras Hindu University. Throughout his career Kuber-ji has performed with countless artists, including Hariprasad Chaurasia, Rajan Sajan Mishra, Dr. R.K. Srinivasan, Dr. N. Rajam, Ustad Amzad Ali Khan, Pt. Vishwamohan Bhatt, Pashupathi Nath Mishra, and Aswini Belay. He has also performed as a soloist numerous times in Banaras and throughout India, including Gwalior, Madras, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Bhopal.
In addition to his extensive performances in India, Kuber Nath Mishra has performed in Germany, France, Switzerland, Holland, England, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Japan, the Philippines, and Malaysia. His concerts in Europe (1996), South Africa (2001), and Sri Lanka (1995) were funded through grants from the Indian government.
The awards received by Kuber Nath Mishra include first prize in the percussion instrument competition hosted by the Uttar Pradesh Sangeet Natak Aacademy, the Taalmani award at “Sur-Singar Samsad†in Mumbai, and first place in the grade A category of All India Radio’s 1987 tabla competition.
Kuber Nath Mishra continues to live with his family in Banaras, though he travels regularly for performances, both within India and abroad. He maintains a consistent base of students, including an ever-growing number of foreigners who travel to Banaras to study specifically with Guru-ji.
