Hindustani Vocal Recital – Khayal Sangeet
Pandit Shantanu Bhattacharyya is foremost among the young maestros of Hindustani classical vocal music. President’s Gold Medal winner Shantanu is a Top graded artist of All India Radio and Doordarshan. Possessing the rare feat of having won simultaneous top positions in Khayal and Thumri at All India Radio music competition, Shantanu Bhattacharyya’s singing has been described by senior maestros including Guruma Vidushi Meera Banerjee, as a true reflection of Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan. Shantanu groomed in music first by his mother Ira Bhattacharyya and then Sri Amalendu Pal, Sri Bhismadev Bhattacharyya, Sri Sukhendu Goswami and Sri Sudhir Banerjee; Shantanu in subsequent years learned expansively from worshipped names of the Patiala-Kasur Gharana; Pandit Prasun Banerjee, Vidushi Meera Banerjee and Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty. Associating also with other great artists while a scholar at Kolkata’s ITC Sangeet Research Academy in the ‘90s, he perfected himself into a musician aiming to combine the best of all styles, focusing centrally on the gayaki of Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan. Shantanu has performed at numerous festivals & venues in India, United States, Canada, Italy, United Kingdom, Finland, France, Germany and Singapore. Shantanu Bhattacharyya’s music school Aalor Pathe Raga Dhwani has won accolades from one and all, for the brilliant performances of the young pupils learning under him in the guru shishya tradition.
Pandit Ashis Sengupta is a versatile percussionist of the Banaras gharana. He received his initial training from his father Shri Ranjit Kumar Sengupta and was later groomed by Pandit Nanku Maharaj, Pandit Mahapurush Mishra and Pandit Krishna Kumar Ganguly. Pt. Sengupta has innovated to the various rhythmic compositions learnt from his Gurus and is also blessed with a lot of traditional compositions, Stotras and varieties of Gats from the great Gurus. Both as a soloist and an accompanist to widely varied music styles and performers, he is also an established western drummer to his credit. Apart from playing Tabla, he has composed Bhajans and music arrangements for light music compositions recorded by many reputed audio-video companies. Most recently, he has written a book on Tabla named “Facets of Tabla Playing”, published by Kanishka Publishers, New Delhi. He has traveled extensively all over the globe for his performances and lecture-demonstration on Tabla playing under the aegis of numerous organizations. At present he is a member of the Faculty of Music and Fine Arts, University of Delhi.
Durba Bhattacharyya is promising vocalist and accomplished harmonium artist. Imbibing music from her parents, her mother Tapati Banerjee being a vocalist, Durba Bhattacharyya was nurtured in the basics of Hindustani vocal music at a very early age by Ustad Mazhar Ali Khan of Patiala gharana; grandson of Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan. Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty, the celebrated genius of the Patiala Kasur style, subsequently took charge of her taalim and tutored her to perfection while she was a scholar at the ITC Sangeet Research Academy (SRA), Kolkata. Durba then obtained more guidance from Vidushi Meera Banerjee, the undisputed Empress of the Patiala Kasur style who was the gandabandh shagird of Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan Since her marriage in 1997, she has been learning from Shantanu Bhattacharyya, her Gurubhai-turned-husband, who was also a former scholar here. Durba Bhattacharyya has performed in Kolkata, Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore, Chandigarh, Ambala, Patiala, Bhopal, Indore, Ujjain, Surat, Agartala, Mathura, Auroville and Pondicherry. She is an artist of All India Radio Kolkata. She has regaled the audience in USA, Canada, France, England and Singapore, and has to her credit several CDs.