Born into a musical family in Kolkata on October 14^th, 1931, his first teacher was his father, Jitendra Nath Banerjee. A prodigy, he won the All-Bengal Sitar Competition at the age of nine, and then worked for All-India Radio. In 1947 he became a disciple of Ustad Allauddin Khan, the most renowned music teacher of North India, and a direct descendant of the famous saint-musician Miyan Tansen, one of the ‘nine gems’ of the court of the emperor Akbar the Great. Nikhil Banerjee studied with Allauddin Khan for seven years, living with him as a member of his family; he called him ‘Baba’ (father), and revered him. He was also a disciple of Allauddin Khan’s son, the famous sarod master Ustad Ali Akbar Khan. He served as faculty at Ali Akbar College of Music. He played with Ali Akbar Khan in hundreds of memorable ‘jugal bandhis’.

His concert career began in 1954, and he toured outside India many times. In 1968 he was awarded the Indian Government title ‘Padma Sri’, and was named outstanding musician of the year by the ‘Sangeet Natak Akademi’ (the National Academy of Performing Arts).

His last public performance was in Kolkata on Friday, 24^th January, 1986; outside India it was in Carnegie Hall, New York, on Saturday, 9^th November, 1985. Pandit Nikhil Banerjee, one of India’s greatest and most loved musicians, died young at the age of 54 at his home in Kolkata on Monday, 27^th January, 1986, following a heart attack.