Shiv Dayal Batish

Shiv Dayal Batish (better known as S.D. Batish; 14 December 1914 – 29 July 2006.) was an Indian singer and music director born in Patiala, India. He had a very successful career in the Indian music industry starting from the early days in Lahore around 1931, then in Delhi and finally in Bombay where he lived for almost 20 years singing or composing music for the Bollywood movie industry. In 1964, S D Batish received the Tansen Award for best vocalist from Sur Singar Samsad. Batish was classically trained in Hindustani Sangeet by his Guru Shri Chandan Ram Charan of Patiala. During his lifetime, he penned many Ghazals, Geet, Kritis, Bhajans and sang them personally. Of particular interest were his compositions of Lakshan Geet on over 650 ragas of North India. These he designed for his American students while teaching at the University of California in Santa Cruz and at his private students. Batish also composed Raga Chalans (expansions) for many of the North Indian ragas. These compositions are currently being taught by his son Ashwin Batish and his grandson Keshav Batish at the Batish Institute of Indian music and Fine Arts in Santa Cruz California. He played several music instruments such as the Vichitra Veena, Sitar, Tabla, Dholak, Violin, Dilruba, Harmonium and the Sarodini Veena (his own invention).