Tablaphilia will be performed at New York City;’s famous Carnegie Hall (Zankel Hall).

Chhandayan Presents TABLAPHILIA
Opening act: Vocal recital by Sanghamitra Chatterjee
Co-produced by FABA

Tickets start at $30 and can be obtained at the Carnegie Hall Website, by phone at 212-247-7800, or in person at the Carnegie Hall box office at 57th Street and 7th Avenue in New York City.

Tablaphilia

Tablaphilia is a Tabla Symphony on the four stages of human life,
Composed and conducted by Samir Chatterjee,

It is performed by the Chhandayan Tabla Orchestra,

Tablaphilia has been performed and refined for over 15 years. For a detailed description, click here.

Sanghamitra Chatterjee

Sanghamitra Chatterjee is a versatile singer of a wide variety of Indian songs from different genres. Her array of repertoire includes Bhajan, Ghazal, Dadra, film songs, Rabindra Sangeet (songs of Tagore), Adhunik (modern) Bengali songs, Nazrulgeeti and different types of folk and regional songs in different languages.

She had her lessons in classical singing from Pdt. Usharanjan Mukherjee and Sri Dashu Mukherjee. In non-classical music her training has been under Jatileshwar Mukherjee, Ajoy Das, Prasanta Chowdhury, Nikhil Chatterjee and others. She is an upgraded artist of the national radio and television of India. Her proficiency in Tagore songs has earned her the Sangeet Sudhakar diploma.

Sanghamitra's singing is characterized by high aesthetic quality and technical brilliance. Her sensible scanning of lyric with rendered with her original touches of embellishments, her highly sensitive and involved presentation not only brings out the inner essence of the songs she presents, but also adds a new dimension to their emotional contents. Her voice is gifted with a natural mellifluous quality which inevitably touches her audience. Much of her musical sensibilities have developed under the guidance and influence of her illustrious husband Samir Chatterjee, a musician of outstanding caliber and repute.

Sanghamitra Chatterjee is not only known for her excellence as a solo performer, she has also contributed to several groups such as the Chhandayan ensemble in their productions of Indo-Flame and Nacho-Nacho (blend of Indian and Flamenco dance and music), Dawn to Dusk and Beyond and World Percussion Ensemble; with the Battery Dance Co. of NY in production of Songs of Tagore; with the Kathak Ensemble of NY in Ka-Tap (Kathak and Tap dancing), with Ethos Percussions in Masters of Indian Music series. She has performed in many important places and festivals in the United States such as the Smithsonian Institute, Columbia University, American Museum of Natural History in New York and Washington, DC, Symphony Space in NYC, Wortham Center in Houston, Lotus Music and Dance, Kansas University, Monadnock Festival in Peterborough, New Hampshire, Sun Valley in Idaho, University of South Florida in Tampa etc. Apart from her homeland India and the United States she has also performed in Sri Lanka, Poland, The Bahamas and Kazakhstan.

She has presented master classes at Manhattan School of Music, Raritan Community College and also done several school performances in New York City. Her published recordings in CDs and cassettes are treasured by her audience. Her scholarly contribution includes music reviews to Indian news papers.

Tablaphilia: A Tabla Symphony based on Chaturashram, the four stages of human life,
Composed, Directed and Conducted by Samir Chatterjee,
Performed by the Chhandayan Tabla Ensemble

Chhandayan Jazz Ensemble: Xander Naylor (Guitar), Birsa Chatterjee (Saxophone, Clarinet), Dan Finn(Bass), and Akihito Gorai (Drums).

Directions from NYC to Williams Center, Rutherford by public transportations:
By Bus (15 minutes): a) NJ transit 164 bus from Port Authority Bus Terminus, NYC to the Patterson Ave-Hackensack St. stop.
b) NJ 163 to Patterson Ave-Lincon Pl. Williams Center is only 2 minutes from there.
By Rail: a) Penn Station, NYC to Secaucus (one stop), Secaucus to Rutherford (one stop). Click here for NY Penn Station to Rutherford station schedule. Click here for Rutherford station to NY Penn station schedule.
b) Path train to Hoboken, Hoboken to Rutherford (two stops). Williams Center is by the Rutherford station. Click here for Hoboken to Rutherford schedule. Click here for Rutherford to Hoboken Schedule.

Come join us at the Williams Center in Rutherford NJ for one of Chhandayan’s premier productions. The performance will also be streamed live. We want to thank our co-producers - the Williams Center for the Arts, Viewcy, and For the Artists By the Artists - for their generous support.

Tablaphilia is a unique symphony of tabla. It is based on the central theme of Chaturashrama, the four stages of human life. Composed and directed by renowned tabla maestro, Samir Chatterjee, this Symphony of Tabla brings together the power of 22 thundering tablas and four melodious vocals to produce a moving, inspiring, and thought-provoking experience of the philosophy of sound. 

This 70-minute piece interprets the four stages of human life (ashrams) as perceived and maintained in ancient Indian society. The first stage, Bramhacharya, identified as the student life, is meant to be dedicated to the pursuit of Brahma, the creator - our source and destination. In this stage, we are meant to be engaged solely in the pursuit of real knowledge and wisdom. In the next stage, Garhastha, one chooses a vocation and begins a family life to apply the knowledge and observations acquired in Brahmacharya. Retirement, or Banaprastha, is a transition out of Garhastha, after fulfilling life’s obligations, still taking one step in the city and extending the other into the forest. The final stage of Sanyasa brings together complete renunciation of the material world with a feeling of pure ecstasy.  

In Tablaphilia, we get a reminder of the differences we have created in our approach to all of these (different) phases of our lives, losing their true significance(s). For example, in modern times, Brahmacharya is often engaged in a selected field of study geared toward a particular type of vocation as opposed to being dedicated to the pursuit of truth and comprehensive knowledge about the governing phenomenon of life. Garhastha is the stage we like the most and prefer to drag on to consume the whole of our lives. Retirement is most often painful, contrary to how it used to be perceived in the past, as release and preparation for complete freedom. Modern society has designated Sanyasa for only a particular group of people (only). Tablaphilia re-establishes these stages of our lives, which we live anyway, with greater value and significance. It relates to everyone living this life, irrespective of their varied backgrounds.  

The experiences of these different phases of life are expressed through the abstract drum-language of tabla. Tablaphilia uses many of the musical principles, common in western symphony, such as harmony, counterpoint, canon etc. and embraces them in the musical experience that is purely Indian. It uses different traditional taals (rhythmic cycles), ragas and compositions produced out of the sound of tabla, enhanced by vocal inserts, and creates a soundscape that naturally relates the theme to the audience, making it accessible even to the untrained listener. They come out with a wholesome experience of life in those 70 minutes. Tablaphilia becomes more of a life-transforming experience than just a musical performance. 

            This enthralling production with extraordinary tonal range made its debut performance at Chhandayan’s All Night Concert in May of 2009, in New York city and grew to further perfection, particularly after its successful seven-city tour of Karnataka, a year and a half later.  

In the words of some well-known musicians of this style of music, “Tablaphilia has certainly expanded the range of the tabla.” Another said, “it really excited me in a way I have not experienced in a long time." In October of 2011, Tablaphilia was performed in The Great Hall of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City for veteran listeners of Indian classical music and newcomers alike. Museum administrators raved that, “Tablaphilia transformed the museum into a temple,” and called it “a life-changing concert!” From its exuberant beginnings to its meditative end, Tablaphilia transcends nationality and culture and speaks to all those who experience it.
- Renu Nahata