Rajyasree Ghosh - vocal
Sandip Ghosh - tabla
Allarakha Kalavant - sarangi
Koulik Bhattacharya - harmonium
Mousumi Biswas and Joyita Talukdar - tanpura
Join us for a vocal program this Christmas morning. This event was recorded on February 20, 2021 at a live performance at the Duttapukur Arts Center, West Bengal, India.
Rajyashree Ghosh
Rajyasree Ghosh is a leading artiste amongst the present generation of Indian Classical Musicians. She has the special distinction of having equal flair in both Raga Music as well as the lighter version of Thumri, Dadra, Bhajan, Nazrulgeeti, Bengali Tappa and Puratani songs. Gifted with an attractive enthralling voice and a great sensitivity for the soul of the ragas she has emerged as an artist of unique creativity and perfect rendition.
Rajyasree Ghosh started her training in Indian Classical Music at a very early age. She was a Gold Medalist both in B.A and M.A in Classical Music (Khayal) at the Rabindra Bharati University. She was later awarded the National Scholarship by the Ministry of Human Resources Development, Govt. of India in 1986 under the training of Pt. Amiya Ranjan Banerjee. She was a Scholar at the Sangeet Research Academy, where she studied music under the guidance of Vd. Girija Devi and Pt. Arun Bhaduri. Later she received an extensive training from the late Pt. K.G. Ginde .
In the field of light classical and non-classical music, besides her extensive “talim” (training) of Thumri, Dadra etc. from Smt. Girija Devi, she also learnt Nazrulgeeti from the late Smt. Suprava Sarkar for a number of years and Bengali Tappa, Puratani etc. from the legendary late Shri Ramkumar Chatterjee for almost 35 years.
Rajyasree Ghosh has performed and won laurels in several prestigious music conferences. She was placed first for three consecutive years (1984-1986) in the Dover Lane Music Competition in Khayal, Ragpradhan and Bhajan. She is an A-grade artist of the A.I. R in Indian classical and semi classical.
In the year 2000, she at the invitation of Bangiya Parisod in Oman, went to Muscat and performed several music programmes, to their complete satisfaction and earned rich accolades.
In the years 2001-2007, she had several tours in the USA and performed in many cities to audiences comprising both the Indian and American communities who showered her with rich accolades. In 2010 she performed for the Norton-Simon Foundation (“Malhar” Session) drawing high praise from music critiques.
She is an Associate Professor of Music in Rabindra Bharati University of Kolkata, India
Sandip Ghosh
Sandip Ghosh
In his mid thirties, Sandip Ghosh is a known name in the music fraternity.Started at the age of Six under Pt. Gobindo Bose, Sandip has long association of more than 20 years with legendary Tabla Wizard Pt. Anindo Chatterjee in Guru Shishya Parampara. Beside his Tabla Gurus, he has got the rare opportunity to get Vid. Kaushiki Chakraborty as his mentor for more than a decade,and Pt. AjoyChakraborty as a Guru for overall guidance about accompaniment.
A first class in masters from RBU in Music, Sandip has two gold medals in his name, along withdozens of numerous prestigious accolades globally.
An acclaimed accompanist, who has been touring extensively with : Pt. Ajoy Chakraborty, Pt. KushalDas, Pt. Tejendra Narayan Majumdar, Vid. Kaushiki Chakraborty, Pt. Hari Prasad Chowrasia, Ustad Shujaat Khan, Ustad Rashid Khan, Pt. Purbayan Chatterjee, Pt. Ranajit Sengupta to name a few.Working with several brilliant world musicians & bands of other genres took his adaptabilities to adifferent height.
Alla Rakha Kalavant
Alla Rakha Kalavant is one among the most sought-after Sarangi players of his age. The strings of his Sarangi are believed to speak to the hearts of many.
Alla Rakha hails from the family of the illustrious Sarangi playes, Ustad Noor Khan and Ustad Madari Khan of Sikar ( Rajasthan). Born on 20th August in the year 1980 in Jaipur, Alla Rakha acquired the genes of the previous generations. The art of Sarangi playing was in his blood.
After the death of Alla Rakha’s grandfather, Ustad Ramzan Khan, the rare instrument, that is, the Sarangi, had almost lost its place in the family and Alla Rakha’s father, Ustad Yamin Khan, a renowned composer and ghazal singer, was saddened by this fact. It was at this time that he suggested his son to start learning Sarangi and Alla Rakha readily accepted the decision of his father. He was determined to convert Sarangi playing into his profession. His rigorous training started under the guidance of his father and then to acquire proper taleem, he moved in the company of his maternal grandfather, Ustad Imamuddin Khan, a very famous name amongst the musicians of Rajasthan and also a ‘Gandha Bandha Shagird’ of Ustad Amir Khan Saheb, a court musician of the Jodhpur court.
Afterwards, Alla Rakha shifted to Ahmedabad where he was placed under the tutelage of the noted sitar player, Vidushi Manju Mehta, a disciple of Pandit Ravishankar. The young sarangi player, then, went ahead to continue his trainings under the torchlight of the very famous vocalist of the Indore Gharana, Shree Mahendra Toke. From with, he acquired and developed the ability as far as the finer nuances of the Khayal Gayaki were concerned. During that period, Alla Rakha has been able to spend a short lapse of time with Ustad Abdul Latif Khan, a renowned Sarangi player of Bhopal.
Following his training, he participated in a number of national as well as international concerts through which he started to take his place in the world of Indian Classical Music. From the year 2004 until that of 2011, he went on several tours to Europe he not only performed Indian Classical Music, but also worked with fusion, jazz, and many other different genres of world music. Alla Rakha has also composed music for dance and drama projects as well. Following the tours in Europe, he decided to allocate more time to his performances and work in his home country as he believed that making his own name in India was equally or more important. In 2012, Alla Rakha moved to Kolkata as he was appointed as a member of the Sarangi Faculty by the ITC Sangeet Research Academy.
Alla Rakha stands tall amongst the musicians of his age. Disciplined improvisations and unfoldments of Ragas, thoughtful and full of response types of Alapi, proper use of Gamak and Khatka and use of Meru Khand Taans are some of the special features of his Sarangi playing. Having mastered the above mentioned qualities and having acquired command over both hands on this rare instrument like the Sarangi, Alla Rakha has made himself unique among the musicians of his age.