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Pannalal Ghosh
पन्नालाल घोष
The master of the flute — who raised the bansuri to the concert stage
Years
1911 – 1960
Known as
Pannalal Ghosh — the flautist
Birthplace
Barisal, Bengal
Field
Artists & Performers
“The flute is the voice of the divine — let it speak the deepest ragas of the North.”
— The spirit of Pannalal Ghosh
The Story
Born in 1911 in Barisal, Pannalal Ghosh was drawn to the flute from childhood and trained under the great masters of the Hindustani tradition. He realised that the small folk flute could not express the full range of the classical raga, and he redesigned it — creating the larger, deeper bansuri that could carry the music of the concert stage.
His mastery of the instrument was revolutionary: he played the full range of the khayal tradition on the flute, performing the great ragas with a depth and power that no one had thought the instrument capable of. His concerts established the flute as a first-rank instrument of Hindustani music.
He died in 1960, at the height of his powers. He is honoured as the father of the modern concert flute of the North — the master who gave the instrument its voice and its place on the great stage.
Core Ideas
The Concert Flute
He transformed the bansuri into a concert instrument.
The Redesign
His larger flute could express the deepest ragas.
The Khayal Flute
He played the great tradition on the instrument.
The Father
The founder of the modern concert flute.
The Revolution
He gave the flute its place on the great stage.
Why it matters today
Pannalal Ghosh is honoured as the father of the modern concert flute — the master who raised the bansuri from a folk instrument to the great stage of Hindustani music. His redesigned instrument and his playing transformed the tradition, and his name is remembered wherever the flute of the North is heard.