Pandit Bimalendu Mukherjee : (1925 - 2010)

Acharya Bimalendu Mukherjee, the veteran exponent of the renowned Imdadkhani Gharana, whose contributed greatly to music both as a performer and as a Guru, died on 22nd Jan 2010 .

Acharya Bimalendu Mukherjee was born in an art-loving Bengali family at Chinsurah, West Bengal, on 2nd January 1925. He did his schooling from Mymensingh (now in Bangladesh) and later acquired a Masters Degree, obtaining a first class, in Geology in 1948, from Calcutta University. He began his career as a Geologist in 1949 and subsequently moved to Bhilai, which became his permanent home. He introduced to the people of Bhilai many fine artists of India and their works. He won acclaim for his stage performances and radio broadcasts between 1940 - 1960. After the sixties, he was busy with his administrative responsibilities, assignments and obligations, which allowed him little time for stage performances. When he took voluntary retirement in 1983 as General Manager (Mines) and Additional Director CRMM SAIL to join the Khairagarh University as Vice Chancellor, forty organizations united to felicitate him for his long years of service to the Bhilai community.

Pandit Mukherjee was primarily a Sitarist, though proficient in almost all traditional Indian instruments like RudraVeena, Saraswati Veena, Surbahar, Sursingar, Mandrabahar, Dilruba, Esraj, Tar Shehnai, Sarod and Pakhavaj. He was equally adept in vocal music. Among his numerous pupils are his son, Budhaditya Mukherjee, his grandson Bijoyaditya and Anupama Bhagwat.

His contributions to the family of stringed musical instruments are the unique "Aditya Veena" - named after his son - and the "Bijoy Veena" - named after his grandson. He had also revived the 'Ektantri' single-stringed Veena - an instrument referred to by Sharangdev - and the Sur Kanan. Besides, he had experimented, modified and improved the structure and tonal quality of many stringed instruments like the Sitar , Sarod, Surbahar, Rudraveena, Esraj, Guitar, Dilruba and the Veena.

Pandit Mukherjee had been constantly experimenting with the Western and Eastern philosophy of medical treatment. He created Raga Anandamayee in Thaat Kafi, which his son recorded in a novel way on the Sitar . This recording, was successfully experimented on patients of hypertension.

He also wrote treatises and commentaries on musical subjects. His article published by "All India Kashiraj Trust's Dhrupada Varshiki' issue (Dhrupada Annual) on the importance of intricate technical aspects of stringed instruments is most enlightening.