Cuttack radio in Odisha/ and I accepted. It was then that my father found out that I was a musician. It was a major shock for him." - Meaning and context.">
On Parents and Passion.
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My father was a wrestler and though everyone liked music in the family, it was a taboo to even think of a musical career. I used to wrestle to keep him happy. When I was about nine years old, I started learning vocal music from Pandit Rajaram, secretly! At the age of fifteen, I heard the flute for the first time on Allahabad radio. It was as if I was being transported to heaven. The flautist was Pt. Bholanath and that was the major turning point in my life. Soon after, while I was still in my teens I got an offer to work as a staff artist on Cuttack radio in Odisha/ and I accepted. It was then that my father found out that I was a musician. It was a major shock for him.

— Hariprasad Chaurasia

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "My father was a wrestler and though everyone liked music in the family, it was a taboo to even think of a musical career. I used to wrestle to keep him happy. When I was about nine years old, I started learning vocal music from Pandit Rajaram, secretly! At the age of fifteen, I heard the flute for the first time on Allahabad radio. It was as if I was being transported to heaven. The flautist was Pt. Bholanath and that was the major turning point in my life. Soon after, while I was still in my teens I got an offer to work as a staff artist on Cuttack radio in Odisha/ and I accepted. It was then that my father found out that I was a musician. It was a major shock for him." in the context of "On Parents and Passion." to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Quote Image
Source: Wikiquote: "Hariprasad Chaurasia" (Quotes, Melodies of Brindavan: Pandit Hariprasad Chourasia: (11 April 2013), Melodies of Brindavan: Pandit Hariprasad Chourasia, publisher: Know Your Star Organization, retrieved: 19 December 2013) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Hariprasad Chaurasia

About Hariprasad Chaurasia

Hariprasad Chaurasia (born July 1, 1938) is a renowned Indian flute player whose repertoire is in Eastern Classical music. He is an innovator and a traditionalist. He is as credited for his musicianship as for his technical ability on the native instruments. He has been honoured with several awards of which the most prominent ones are the Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian award of India, and the distinction of Chevalier dans l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters) of France. He also serves as the Artistic Director of the World Music Department at the Rotterdam Music Conservatory in the Netherlands.