Parimal Manmohan Sadaphal

PPParimal was exposed to Indian Classical Music at the tender age of three, when his mother was pursuing the degree of Sangeet Visharad. Even at that age, he surprised everyone by being able to identify several ragas while listening to radio programmes or live concerts. In his early years his mother Suman Sadaphal, groomed him in handling an instrument as delicate as a sitar. On seeing his talents, the great sitar Maestro, Pt. Ravi Shankar advised that since he was too young at that time, Parimal should be started formal training in playing the sitar from the age of seven and suggested that he be trained under one of his senior disciples, Shri Balwant Rai Verma in Delhi.

Accordingly, Parimal’s started his formal training exactly at the age of 7 under the able guidance of Shri Balwant Rai Verma. His father Dr.M. N. Sadaphal, who was a Senior Scientist with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research along with his mother, constantly encouraged and helped him to practice and develop his skills. Within a couple years, Parimal had won awards at several music competitions and started regularly playing on All India Radio (Yuv Vani). He also won the prestigious National Cultural Talent Scholarship. In 1971-72, at the age of 10, he performed at several venues in the United States of America including US television for the Bangladesh Relief Fund. Parimal continued pursuing higher training in music under the supervision of Shri Uma Shankar Mishra, another renowned disciple of Pandit Ravi Shankar.

Since 1985, Parimal has been receiving intensive training from the maestro Pt. Ravi Shankar himself. On several occasions he has played in Panditji’s troupe and orchestral productions prominent amongst which are the following:

•  Festival of India in Moscow, 1988

• Apna Utsav, Delhi 1989

• Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai 1991

• Siri-Fort Auditorium, Delhi 2000

He has also been associated with the composition / rehersal aspects of a number of Ravi Shankar productions like hanashyam, Ravi Shankar – Philip Glass, Festival of India in Moscow, Concert at Dartington School of Music in UK, etc. Parimal has supported Pt. Ravi Shankar on the sitar in solo concerts at several places including Mumbai, Delhi, London and a number of places in the United States of America. Prominent amongst them are concerts at:

• Homi Jehangir Bhabha Auditorium, Mumbai, March, 2004

• Guild Hall, London, July 2004

• University of Michigan, Ann Arbour, September 2004

• Purdue University, Lafayette, Indiana, September 2004

• University of Urbana-Champagne, Illinois, September 2004

• University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska, October 2004

• Shanmukhananda Hall, Mumbai, December 2004

• Siri Fort Auditorium, New Delhi, December 2004

• Hollywood Bowl 2009

In 2006-7, Parimal has also assisted Panditji in a new project known as the Global Children’s Choir. The project involved training a group of schoolchildren from India and Austria to perform compositions of Mozart and Ravi Shankar. Parimal has been actively involved in preparing the children for rendering compositions of Pt. Ravi Shankar. Parimal is the nephew of the renowned Social Worker and Gandhian, Baba Amte and was born at his ashram – Anandwan near Nagpur. Inspired by him, he has been deeply involved in the NGO sector and has focused on rural energy interventions based in renewable energy sources. Needless to say, his training as an Agricultural Engineer has been of tremendous use here. One of the initiatives conceived and implemented under his guidance that involved providing clean solar energy based lighting options for street hawkers and vendors at affordable prices in the city of Bhopal has received the prestigious Ashden Award for Sustainable Energy, also known as the Green Oscar.