Shankar-Jaikishan

Biography

Shankar–Jaikishan (also known as S-J), was an Indian composer duo of the Hindi film industry, working together from 1949 to 1971. They are widely considered to be one of the greatest-ever music composers of the Hindi film industry.  After Jaikishan’s death in 1971, Shankar continued as a music director alone until his own death in 1987. During this solo career, he was still credited as 'Shankar–Jaikishan'.

Shankar–Jaikishan, along with other artists, composed "everlasting" and "immortal melodies" in the 1950s, 1960s, and early 1970s. Their best work was noted for being "raga-based and having both lilt and sonority".

Shankar Singh Ram Singh Raghuvanshi (15 October 1922 – 26 April 1987) was from Hyderabad. During his formative years, Shankar played the tabla and learned the art formally from Baba Nasir Khansahib. For many years, Shankar studied as a disciple of the legendary composer Khawaja Khurshid Anwar, in whose orchestra he performed. Shankar started his career with a theater group run by Satyanarayan and Hemawati, before shifting to Prithvi Theatre where he played tabla and performed some minor roles in plays. It was at Prithvi Theatre that he learned to play and mastered several other instruments like Sitar, Accordion Piano, etc. Besides his work at Prithvi Theatre, he also started working as an assistant to the leading composer duo of Husnlal Bhagatram and nurtured the ambition of becoming an independent music director.

Jaikishan Dayabhai Panchal (4 November 1929 – 12 September 1971) was born to Dahyabhai Panchal and his wife. As a child, he lived in Bansda (Vansada), a town in the present-day state of Gujarat. Jaikishan was adept at playing the harmonium. Subsequently, he obtained his musical lessons from Sangeet Visharad Wadilalji and later from Prem Shankar Nayak. After moving to Mumbai, he became a disciple of Vinayak Tambe.