Pannalal Ghosh

Born 1911; Died 1960.

Pannalal Ghosh was a tenor Indian flute player, born in East Bengal (now East Pakistan). His early work was for film soundtracks, but he found himself more inclined towards classical Indian music. At the time of his death he was the conductor of National Orchestra of All India Radio. The playing style of raga compositions of Ghosh gave the flute status as a major concert instrument in North Indian classical music, where before it was seen more as an instrument for primarily folk music. (The instrument had already become cemented as a primary instrument in South Indian music a generation earlier.) Ghosh devised a tenor flute which was longer and produced deeper tones than the traditional bansurai.