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Google honours tabla maestro Lachhu Maharaj with a doodle on his 74th birth anniversary

Google on Tuesday honoured noted tabla maestro Lachhu Maharaj on his 110th birth anniversary by dedicating a doodle to the musician.

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Lachhu Maharaj, the noted tabla maestro, on his 74th birth anniversary was honoured by Google with a doodle. The search giant on Tuesday dedicated a Google Doodle to the musician. Lachhu Maharaj was born in Varanasi on October 16, 1944, as Lakshmi Narayan Singh. Lachhu Maharaj was known for his proficiency in playing the tabla as part of the Benaras Gharana- one of the six most common styles of playing the tabla, which was developed nearly 200 years ago.

Apart from his performances, he also featured in a plethora of films. The tabla maestro was even nominated for a Padma Shri. However, he refused to accept the accolade.

The tabla master started performing at an early age of eight and received training from his father Vasudev Maharaj.  During one of the Lachhu Maharaj's performances in Mumbai, he caught the attention of classical tabla virtuoso Ahmad Jaan Thirakwa. Ahmad Jaan is the man whose name is synonymous with the tabla. Thirakwa was greatly impressed by the young tabla player and is known to have said “Kaash Lachhu mera beta hota (I wish Lachhu was my son)”.

Depsite Lachhu Maharaj had performed along with several great tabla players of his times he was always remembered for his solo performances. Indian film actor, dancer, comedian and former politician Govinda was related. Little does the world know that Govinda learnt music from Maharaj during his childhood who was his maternal uncle. 

During the period of emergency, Maharaj was arrested and put behind the bars. He used to play the tabla inside the prison in order to protest. In 1957, he was honoured with the Sangeet Natak Akademi award, the highest award for performing artists. 

Lacchu Maharaj passed away in July 2016 in Varanasi at the age of 72 after a prolonged illness.  

(With inputs from ANI) 

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