Hailing from a rich and glorious heritage of Vishnupur Gharana, Nihar Ranjan started his career under the tutelage of none other than his illustrious father Satyakinkar Bandhopadhyay, the doyen of Hindustani Classical Music.

Later, Nihar received taleem from his elder brother Dr. Amiya Ranjan, a musician of a rare breed, who sings to the congnoscentti's delight only. Born in 1946, Nihar went on to be noticed when he stood first in Dhrupad & Dhamar competition held in the year 1962 by AIR. In subsequent years, he has justified the promise reposed on him through numerous public recitals he has taken part in.

An M.A. from Calcutta University in literature (1968), Nihar Ranjan is now a reader of Classical Music in Rabindra Bharati University, and performs regularly on AIR and Doordarshan as an A grade artiste. He is also quite successful as a teacher in the field of classical music.