Amit Mishra is an exponent of the renowned Banaras Gharana of Indian Classical Music. He was born on 2ndOctober 1985 in the city of Varanasi (Banaras), famed not only for its religious significance but also for its rich heritage of music. He is one of the current scions of this ancient tradition and legacy.
Amit was born into the famous Mishra family of Banaras known for its numerous generations of musicians including sarangi players, tabla players and vocalists. His early forays into the world of music were supervised by his paternal grandfather, the late Pt. Narayan Das Mishra, who groomed Amit in vocal music. Those initial years of grooming helped Amit develop a foundational understanding of various forms of vocal music such as Khayal, Tappa, Bhajan etc.
Even as he pursued vocal music, however, Amit Mishra developed a keen interest in tabla playing and started learning it under the guidance of his father, Pt. Kishor Kumar Mishra and uncle Pt. Pramod Kumar Mishra. As he began to devote himself entirely to tabla playing, he was both inspired and blessed by his maternal grandfather, the lateTabla Samrat Pt. Samta Prasad Mishra. He then received advanced instruction from his Guru, the internationally acclaimed late Pt. Sharda Sahai (a direct descendant of Pt. Ram Sahai ji, the founder of the Banaras Gharana style of playing the tabla) in the traditional guru-shishya parampara of India.
Amit Mishra has the distinction of topping the instrumental music division of M.Mus examinations of the Banaras Hindu University (B.H.U.). He also qualified the NET exam in music which is organized by UGC in 2009.
At present, Amit Mishra is based out of Mumbai, India, where he maintains a busy performing as well as teaching career. He is both an accomplished soloist and a sought-after accompanist of both vocalists and instrumentalists.