There will be a live all-night concert of Indian Classical Music broadcast from India available for viewing in the USA on Saturday May 8, 2021 from 10:30AM EDT through 5:30AM May 9.
The scheduled performances are:
1. Allarakha Kalavant - Sarangi solo
2. Koushik Bhattacharya - vocal
3. Samir Chatterjee - tabla solo
4. Mita Nag - sitar
5. Rajyasree Ghosh - vocal
Accompanying Artists are:
Tabla
Chiranjit Mukherjee
Subrata Manna
Indranil Mallick
Sandip Ghosh
Harmonium
Jyotirmoy Banerjee
Koulik Bhattacharya
Sarangi
Allrakha Kalavant
Tanpura
Sohini Paul
Mousumi Biswas
Joyita Talukdar
Madhuvanti Murali Mohan
Kanisha Roychoudhury
For more information you can email us at info@tabla.org
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.
Koushik Bhattacharya
Koushik Bhattacharya began his training at a very early age under the guidance of his father, Pt. Pataki Bhattacharya, and his mother, Rama Bhattacharya, and as a child performed in respected festivals throughout India. In 1987 he was selected as a scholar by the Sangeet Research Academy, studying with Pt. Arun Bhaduri. He eventually became the “Ganda Bandh Shagrid” of the late Pt. K.G. Ginde and also trained later under the guidance of Pt. Sunil Bose
Koushik is a regular artist of All India Radio & Television and an empanelled artist of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations under the Ministry of External Affairs. He is attached as a guru of Indian Classical Vocal in Gyan Bani FM (105.4 MHZ) on the “Sur Sabha” radio program airing live on Wednesday evenings.
Koushik has performed throughout India for many years at acclaimed music conferences including the ITC Sangeet Sammelan, the All India Music Conference in New Delhi, the Conference of Indian Council for Cultural Relations, the Dover Lane Music Conference, Uttarpara Sangeet Chakra, West Bengal State Music Academy and Dakshini Music Conference. He has also toured extensively worldwide participating in prestigious music events in the U.S.A., Canada, Italy, France, Germany, Denmark, Spain, Norway, Dubai and Bangladesh.He received the Surmani award from Sursinger Samsad in Mumbai, and the Vocational Award 2008 from the Rotary Club of Salt Lake City, Kolkata.
Along with his busy concert and touring schedule, Koushik also serves as a dedicated teacher of Indian Classical Vocal in “The Doverlane Music Academy” and “Future Hope School” of Kolkata and as examiner for Rabindra Bharati University. Koushik is also the director of his own music school, “Manindra Sangeet Tirtha”, which was established by his father in 1970 (in memory of his Grand Father who was a famous Dhrupad Singer), and provides traditional Indian Classical music education.
Samir Chatterjee
Samir Chatterjee is a virtuoso Tabla player from India. He travels widely across the world throughout the year performing in numerous festivals as a soloist or with other outstanding musicians from both Indian and non-Indian musical traditions. Samir performed at the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo, Norway in 2007. He also performed a few times at the United Nations General Assembly. His compositions are widely acclaimed as well as his writings. Samir is a firm believer in the transforming effect of music on the society and all aspects of his work reflects this conviction.
He began his studies early with Pandit Bankim Ghosh, Pt. Balaram Mukherjee, Pt. Rathin Dhar and Mohammad Salim. His later formation as a musician occurred under the guidance of Pt. Amalesh Chatterjee (since 1966) and Pt. Shyamal Bose (since 1984). All of Samir's teachers have been from the Farrukhabad Gharana (school) of Tabla-playing, which he now represents.
Samir is rated ‘A’ as an artiste of Indian national radio and television. He can be heard on numerous recordings featuring as soloist, accompanying many of India's greatest musicians and in collaboration with western musicians of outstanding caliber. In concert Samir has accompanied many of India's greatest musicians including Pt. Ravi Shankar, Ud. Vilayat Khan, Pt. Bhimsen Joshi, Pt. Jasraj, Pt. Nikhil Banerjee, Pt. V.G. Jog, Pt. Shivkumar Sharma, Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia, M. S. Gopalakrishnan, Ud. Amjad Ali Khan, Ud. Salamat Ali Khan, Smt. Lakshmi Shankar, Pt. Manilal Nag, Ud. Ali Ahmed Hussain, Ud. Aashis Khan, Dr. L. Subramanium, U Srinivas, Ud. Naseeruddin Sami, Smt. Veena Sahashrabuddhe, Ud. Shujat Khan, Ud. Saheed Parvez, Pt. Ajoy Chakraborty, Ud. Nishat Khan, Ud. Rashid Khan, Pt. Tejendra N. Mazumdar, Pt. Debashish Bhattacharya, Smt. Arti Anklekar, Smt. Kaushiki Chakraborty, to name only a few.
Samir Chatterjee lives in the New York-New Jersey area, and has been a catalyst in the fusion of Indian and Non-Indian music, in his own creations and others as well. He performs with Pauline Oliveros, William Parker, Branford Marsalis, Ravi Coltrane, Joshua Bell, Yoko Ono Lenon, David Liebman, Oliver Lake, Dave Douglas, Ned Rothenberg, Mark Dresser, Mark Feldman, Jerome Harris, Eric Friedlander, Steve Gorn, Glen Velez, Boby Sanabria, Jin Hi Kim, Min Xiao-Fen, Dance Theater of Harlem, Boston Philharmonic, Minnesota Orchestra, Ethos Percussion group, Da Capo Chamber Orchestra, Boston Musica Viva and other jazz, classical and avant guard musicians and ensembles. He also collaborates with Sufi-Rock singer Salman Ahmad of Junoon from Pakistan. He is the composer and director of Indo-Flame – a blend of Indian and Flamenco dance and music, Chhand-Anand - a world percussion ensemble, RabiThakur – a ballet on the life of Tagore, Meghadootam – a feature program of music and dance on an ancient Indian poem, and Dawn to Dusk and Beyond – on the effect of music on humans and nature. He performs with Sanjay Mishra on his CD "Blue Incantation" featuring Jerry Garcia as guest artist.
Samir Chatterjee has been teaching for the last 35 years and many of his students are established performers. He is the Founder-Director of CHHANDAYAN, an organization dedicated to promoting and preserving Indian music and culture. He has authored a comprehensive 654-page book entitled A Study of Tabla, a guide book to Indian music titled Music of India and Those Forty Days, a journal of an austere practice regimen. He is on the faculty at Manhattan School of Music, University of Pittsburgh and New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music. He also taught at the Yale University, Columbia University, New York University and Princeton University, among many other major institutions in the USA, Europe and India. He also contributes to several newspapers and periodicals. He won gold medal for his proficiency in a musical examination and has two Master degrees, in English and History.
Since June 2008 Samir started working relentlessly towards the musical revival of Afghanistan. He made several trips to the country working with different levels of the society and administration and within a very short period of time was able to make a remarkable difference in the cultural life of the country. He is the recipient of several awards such as the Sunshine Award, Jadu Bhatta Award and Acharya Varistha Award.
Mita Nag
Mita Nag, daughter of veteran satirist, Pandit Manilal Nag and grand daughter of Sangeet Acharya (a master musician) Gokul Nag, belongs to the Bishnupur Gharana of Bengal, a school of music nearly 300 years old. In terms of lineage, Mita is the sixth generation sitar player in her family, the tradition having begun with her fore fathers. It was with her grandfather Gokul Nag, who had become the Guru of Birendra Kishore Roychoudhury,zamindar of Gauripur Estate, Kolkata,also a noted musicologist and author of books on music , then Guru of the family of Nirmal Chandra Bandopadhyay, a noted zamindar (feudal lord) family of Uttarpara, a Northern suburb town of Kolkata, that the music of the Nag family came into limelight. With her illustrious father Manilal Nag, the sitar tradition of Vishnupur gharana was made known to the world.
This Gharana follows the Dhrupad style of song and the instrumental recital too, imitates the dhrupad style in the Alap and Jod phases.
Mita (born,1969) was initiated into music at the tender age of four . She had shown rather early gestures of her love for music. Toddling with her tiny sitar Mita began her early training under the guidance of her mother who was also a disciple of Gokul Nag. Her grandfather’s encouragement and instructions through singing had much influence on her early reception of music, most noticeably, associating the instrument with song. Her tutelage under her father started at the age of six.
Mita appeared for her debut performance at the age of ten years, the year 1979 being observed as the International Year of the Child. The same year Mita won the Junior National Talent Search Award of the Govt .of India.
Mita has performed in a number of concerts, solo as well as duet recitals with her father in major cities of India and in many cities of the US, Canada, Japan and Europe. She was awarded the Junior Fellowship Award by the Human Resource Development, Govt of India, for her research project on Vishnupur Gharana.
As a soloist Mita has been performing in numerous cities of the country and has participated in famous Sangeet Festivals such as The Doverlane Young Talents, The Doverlane Music Conference, 2013, The Uttarparha Sangeet Chakra Conference 2013, Salt Lake Music Festival ( a number of times), Sangeet Piyasi, Kolkata, Khyal Trust, Dadar Matunga, Swar –Yatra in Mumbai , DARBAR FESTIVAL, LONDON 2015, MILAPFEST, ENGLAND,2016,Sabarna Raychowdhury Sangeet Sammelan,Kolkata,2017,Chowdhury House Music Conference,Kolkata, 2017, Bishnupur Utsav,Govt.of West Bengal,2018 and many more.
Mita has founded the Gokul Nag Memorial Foundation, a Trust for the promotion of Indian Classical Music, in the fond memory of her grandfather,Sangeetacharya Gokul Nag.
Mita is a Masters in English Literature and an M.Phil. in English from The University of Kolkata.
Rajyasree 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
Chiranjit Mukherjee
Chiranjit Mukherjee is a well known name in the field of Indian Classical Music. He was born in the year 1984 in a family full of music admirers. His grandfather was a connoisseur of traditional Hindusthani Classical Music. His passion was infused in Chiranjit from the very childhood and his initial training in Tabla was started under the guidance of his first Guru Shri Sailesh Kumar Chakraborty. His parents encouraged him to take pleasure in the learning progression of Tabla. Gradually his inclination towards music increased and he devoted himself into the world of cadence. The thirst for the knowledge and passion for the music followed by the sense of belongingness with the tradition made him search the roots and branches of Indian Classical Music.
Chiranjit is acknowledged for his illustrious and robust performance in the style of Benaras Gharana. He is a disciple of the living legend of the Benaras gharana, Pandit Kumar Bose, who has recognized Chiranjit as his disciple for the last 12 years. He has spread the magic of rhythm with his sharp finger strokes and musical execution of a percussion instrument. Blessed by his Gurus and admired by the listeners Chiranjit is now a name to reckon with. His sincerity reflected in his academic performances when he was bestowed with the honor, First class first in his graduation and post graduation from the esteemed Rabindra Bharati University. He is able to inscribe his impression in the heart of music lovers with his dynamic solo performances as well as sagacious accompaniment.
An erudite performer of his generation Chiranjit blends the mood and music with proficiency. His extensive research and resourceful imagination helps him to stand diverse on stage. He adopted the philosophy of his Guru Pandit Kumar Bose and believes in candid exhibition of competence.
Subrata Manna
A disciple of the great Tabla maestro Pandit Shankar Ghosh, Subrata took initial training from late Sri Sunil Bhattacharya of the Benaras gharana at the age of eight.Subrata also has been receiving training of Karnatic tala system under the guidance of eminent Miridangam maestro Pandit S.Sekhar.
Subrata is an M.A in Percussion music from Rabindra Bhararti University, Kolkata. He is an ‘A’ grade artist of All Radio and Television. He has been playing all over in India and abroad in many prestigious concerts and conferences and festivals successfully.Subrata has played almost in all the major music conferences in Kolkata and played in many other prestigious music conferences in different parts of India.
Subrata has toured successfully in U.S.A ,U.K and many European countries like Germany,France,Italy,Belgium,Denmark,Sweden,Switzerland,Holland and many Middle East countries Like Kuwait,Dubai and in Martinique in Caribbean Island.He had also represented govt.of India to perform different international music festival in Iraq+Jordon in the year 1998 and in Mexico+Canada in the year 2014 and in Slovenia+Croatia+Montenegro in the year of 2017 organized by the I.C.C.R. He has to his credit several audio cds releasing from different companies which are available in the market. Subrata had lead a team of vocalist and Kathak dancer and a Sitar player to represent Hinduism through North Indian classical music in of one of most prestigious International festivals called ‘MUSICASACRA’in south of Germany and Eigenarten Festival,Hamburg,Germany and in Cervantino Festvial,The biggest festival of South America.
Jyotirmoy Banerjee
Jyotirmoy has been a student of Music since his childhood, the first Gurus being his father Sri Jayanta Banerjee, mother Smt. Nibedita Banerjee and his aunt Smt Jhumur Routh.
After his initial training from his parents, he took admission at Shrutinandan, under the able guidance of Padmabhusan Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty. He learnt music from Smt. Soma Banerjee, Sri Pradip Chatterjee, Sri Suvodeep Mukherjee, Sri Anol Chatterjee, Sri Brojeswar Mukherjee and Sri Deborshee Bhattacharya at Shrutinandan. Recently he is a senior scholar at Shrutinandan taking training from the legendary Padmabhusan Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty.
Apart from learning vocal music, Jyotirmoy takes keen interest in Instrumental Music as well. He has the ability to play a lot of musical instruments, Harmonium being his personal favourite.
He has travelled across India and abroad with artistes of eminence like his Guru Padmabhusan Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty, Smt. Girija Devi, Sri A.Hariharan, Smt. Kaushiki Chakraborty and many more.
Indranil Mallick
Talent, virtuosity and youthful dynamism blend in perfect proportion to project Indranil Mallick as a leading tabla player of his generation. Intensive training since the age of 5 under eminent masters including uncle Montu Mallick, Prof Dhabol Bandyopadhyay, Shri Uttam Chakraborty and currently, Living Legend Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri has shaped Indranil rich repertoire and contributed to his reputation in the national & international arena.
Indranil has also distinguished himself in cross-over collaborations with western musicians including a recent project with Miles Davis Electric Band.
INDIAN RADIO & TELEVISION have awarded Indranil "A GRADE " together with other distinguished musicians of India.
Lauded by connoisseurs & critics for his solo performances and accompaniment with renowned musicians, Indranil was received the prestigious PANDIT BHIMSEN JOSHI AWARD in 2015
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. Ajoy Chakraborty as a Guru for overall guidance about accompaniment.
With a first class in masters from RBU in Music, Sandip has two gold medals in his name, along with dozens of numerous prestigious accolades globally. He is an acclaimed accompanist, who has been touring extensively with: Pt. Ajoy Chakraborty, Pt. Kushal Das, Pt. Tejendra Narayan Majumdar, Vid. Kaushiki Chakraborty, Pt. Hari Prasad Chowrasia, Ustad Shujaat Khan, Ustad Rashid Khan, Pt. Purbayan Chatterjee, Pt. Ranajit Sengupta and others.
Working with several brilliant world musicians & bands of other genres took his adoptabilities to a different height.
Joyita Talukder
Joyita Talukder is an ICCR Scholar with a M.A in Rabindra Sangeet with Rabindra Bharati University.
Mousumi Biswas
Mousumi Biswas is was a student at the Rabindra Bharati University (Graduation & Master’s). He is a
Rabindra Sangeet teacher and organiser at BAFA( Bulbul Academy of Fine Arts) and a music teacher at Great British Kids School.
Sohini Paul
Sohini Paul is a student of Indian Classical Vocal music in Kolkata. She has studied with Amrita Chatterjee, Aniruddha Bhattacharya, Dr. Debabrita Mallick, and is currently studying with Baishali Joardar. She holds a Master of Arts degree in Bengali and a Master of Music degree in Vocal music.