Pandit S. Ballesh Bhajantri is a popular Indian classical Hindustani shehnai player. He is a disciple of shehnai player Ustad Bismillah Khan, he is benares gharana shehnai player and a patiala gharana hindustani vocalist, ghazal singer, Indian playback singer and musician, Ballesh is credited with popularizing the shehnai, a reeded woodwind instrument. He is also a Prasar Bharati's All India Radio and Doordarshan artist.
In 2022, he was awarded India's fourth-highest civilian honour, the Padma Shri, in the field of Art. He is the second classical musician of India after Ustad Bismillah Khan to receive the award as a shehnai player. He has also worked for Ilaiyaraaja and A. R. Rahman.
From Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S._Ballesh) under Creative Commons Attribution CC-BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/legalcode)