Omkarnath Thakur (1897 - 1967), educator, musicologist, and classical singer, was a towering figure of Indian music in the mid 20th century. He was a disciple of Vishnu Digambar Paluskar of Gwalior gharana, became the principal of Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, Lahore, and later on became the founder and first dean of the music faculty at Banaras Hindu University. He sang the national anthem at Parliament house in the night of India's independence in 1947 and received the Padma Shri in 1955 and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1963.