Pt. Santosh Sant, a senior disciple of the maestro Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, is also carrying the legacy, as he was born in a musician’s family of Gwalior (a place in Central India). His father Late Pt. Vasantrao Sant was well known vocalist from the ancient Gwalior Gharana. He took musical impressions from his father, and then from Pt.Shriram Umedkar, a representative sitar artist of Gwalior. He is a musician, who in a sense represents an interesting meeting point between tradition and modernity. Being disciple of Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia, Santosh Sant follows his guru in many ways- in his attempt to master the complex world of Raagdari music and the training with discipline he has undergone and observed. It is his keen and enthusiastic approach to using technology to become an independent self-publishing artiste, on par with artistes anywhere in the world, that makes him a delight to work with. Equally enthusiastic at attempting cross cultural collaborations, Santosh Sant is very much a 21st century Indian musician.
He is an ‘A’ grade performer of the Indian Radio and Television Network and has performed in most prestigious music festivals in India and abroad. He has rewarded with the Gold medal by the Department of Culture, Govt. of India, and the Directorate General of All India Radio, for his best performance in 1990. Also honored with the titles, “Abhinav Kala Samman”, “Surmani” and “Venu-Shree”. His flute has embraced the distinctive features and niceties of the “Gayaki” and “Tantrakari” both equally. It shows the gradual unfolding of the raga, and its gravity, having Alaap, Jod and Jhala, the technical subtleties from Maihar-Gharana.
Major performances of Pt.Santosh Sant:-
1. Tansen Sangeet Samaroh-1990,Gwalior. (Deptt. Of Culture, Govt.of MP)
2. Pt.Krishnarao Shankar Pandit Birth Centenary Festival-1991, Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh Kala Parishad)
3. Gharana Music Festival-1989-Gwalior, Bhopal, Raipur (SCZCC & MP Govt.)
4. The First Pt. Kumar Gandharva Festival-1992,Devas (SCZCC & Ustad Allauddin Khan Sangeet Academy)
5. Sangeet-Nrityotsava-1994, India International Centre (NCZCC & govt. Of UP)
6. Ustad Allauddin Khan Sangeet Samaroh-1990,bhopal.
7. NCPA Festivals-1994 & 2005, NCPA, Mumbai.
8. Lata Mangeshkar Alankaran Evam Puraskar Samaroh-1989, Indore (Govt. of Madhya Pradesh)
9 .Rashtriya Yuva Sangeet Mahotsava-1988-Vishakhapattanam & 1998-Mysore (SCZCC)
10. Full Moon Music Festival-2000, Damoh(Ustad Allauddin Khan Sangeet Academy)