Music Festival of India - Vocal & Santoor Recitals
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.
Kunal Gunjal is a young and promising santoor artiste of the young generation. Having a musical background from his father, Shri.Ulhas Gunjal who is a disciple of internationally renowned santoor exponent, Padmavibhushan Pt.Shivkumar Sharma, Kunal started learning santoor from Dr. Dhananjay Daithankar (Senior Disciple of Pt.Shivkumar Sharma).Kunal is now learning under the guidance of Pt.Shivkumar Sharma and is his Youngest Disciple, striving to make a name amongst the Cognoscenti who have made invaluable contributions to the metamorphosis of Indian Classical Music. Besides having performed with Pt. Shivkumar Sharma on stage, Kunal has performed in various prestigious music festivals and conferences like Pune Festival, 17th Devnandan Ubhyakar Yuva Sangeet Utsav, National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) and MUSIC TODAY to name a few. Kunal’s outstanding mastery over melody and rhythm has helped him leverage the uniqueness which the Santoor can offer to create a unique experience for eclectic audiences. Effortlessly and deftly, Kunal draws out a wide range of emotions from the 100 strings of the Santoor ranging from the introspective to the resounding.
Durba Bhattacharya 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. She joined ITC-SRA in 1987, aged 12, receiving tutelage from Pt. Ajoy Chakrabarty, first as a general class student and later as a scholar between 1992 and 1996. Durba also took specialized lessons from Vidushi Meera Banerjee, the veteran musician who was a shagird of Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan. Since her marriage in ’97, she has been learning from Shantanu Bhattacharyya, her Gurubhai-turned-husband, who was also a former scholar here.
Rhythm represents life. Music also becomes lively and enjoyable with the help of the rhythm. The slow and fast tempo in soft or bold tones brings tremendous variety to an otherwise monotonous musical event. A matured musician therefore needs a matured percussionist without whom his recital does not bloom. One such percussionist is Pandit Samar Saha. Numerous musical performances by renowned artists started throbbing with life with the magical touch of his fingers on the tabla. He belongs to the Benaras gharana. Born in Calcutta, Samar’s initial training started at very tender age under the guidance of his father Shri Sudhanga Bhusan Saha and brother Shri Tarak Saha – a tabla player of repute. His formal training started under the tutelage of Shri Satchidananda Goswami and then flowered under the able guidance of Shri Krishna Kumar Ganguly (Natubabu) of Banaras gharana. At a very young age Samar showed to be a performer of great promise. Frequently featured on Radio and TV in their musicals, Samar has participated in almost all the prestigious music conferences in India, USA, Canada, various countries in Europe and Asia. Samar Saha is a full time faculty member of Sangeet Research Academy since its very inception in 1978.