A young and talented Hindustani classical vocalist, Dhananjay Hegde was born in a musical family. A child prodigy, Dhananjay was identifying the shruthi or musical note of a car horn or temple bell at the age of four. Observing this talent, his parents encouraged him to learn music. He began learning music at the age of four from his mother Smt. Geeta Hegde. His father, Sri G.S. Hegde is a Tabla player and founder of “SAPTHAK” - a music organization promoting Hindustani Music in Bangalore.

Later, Dhananjay was fortunate enough to have trained under Pt. Venkatesh Kumar from Dharwad, for a while. In 1989, he joined Pt. Vinayak Torvi for advanced learning and underwent rigorous training under Panditji in the Gurukul tradition. The taleem received from Panditji moulded Dhananjay into a complete performer. It was not just learning one-to-one from Panditji, but being with him for his concerts all over, made a huge impact on Dhananajay as a performer. After an intense taleem of 14 years, he shifted to Mumbai to pursue his music career and to reach greater heights. A true student, he still seeks guidance from Panditji.

One of the interesting aspects of Dhananjay’s music is the blend of Kirana and Gwalior Gharana, which he has imbibed from his Guru. Dhananjay aspires to be a honest musician and to follow in the footsteps of maestros of yesteryear.