[4][5] Pandit entered English as the loanword pundit, referring to a person who offers opinion in an authoritative manner on a particular subject area (typically politics, the social sciences, technology or sport), usually through the mass media.
[10] In Sanskrit, pandit generally refers to any "wise, educated or learned man" with specialized knowledge.
[11] The term is derived from paṇḍ (पण्ड्) which means "to collect, heap, pile up", and this root is used in the sense of knowledge.
The title is awarded to musicians by their teachers, prominent individuals, or members of their gharana in recognition of their expertise.
As they are informal titles, mentioning names of eminent singers without those appendages is acceptable, unlike prefixes like Dr. awarded formally by educational institutions.