Abir Hossain - ITC-SRA Scholar

Abir Hossain was born into a musical family of Burdwan, West Bengal. His father, Gulam Emam was his first mentor. Later, he came under the tutelage of the sarode maestro Pandit Buddhadev Das Gupta from whom he continues to receive talim. Subsequently, he joined ITC Sangeet Research Academy as a scholar under the aegis of his Guru. In 1997, he received the National Scholarship from the Department of Culture, Govt. of India. He has also been a gold medalist at the Sangeet Prabhakar examination. He has successfully participated in many music concerts in India, including Kalavati Foundation, Bangalore, Bihar Sangeet Natak Akademi, Patna and ITC Sangeet Sammelan, Raipur in 2005 and Ballygunge Maitreyee Music Circle in 2006.

Adarsh Saxena - ITC-SRA Scholar

Adarsh Saxena began learning music at the age of six from Shri Mahesh Chandra Sharma. Completing his Masters in music, he has won various all India level competitions and in 2003 he was awarded a scholarship by the Ministry of Human Resource Development. He has performed at different parts of India including Akashvani Kota, Akashvani and Doordarshan, Jaipur as well as Delhi. From October 2005 he has been an ITC-SRA scholar under the tutelage of ITC-SRA Guru Pandit Arun Bhaduri..

Ali Ahmad Hussain Khan - ITC Awardee
The soft and sweet timbre of the shehnai, immaculate portrayal of the raga and nuances of vocal music perfected through years of talim and relentless riyaz, bring to the mind of every music lover, the much loved and respected name of Ustad Ali Ahmad Hussain Khan. He belongs to a family of renowned shehnai exponents from Benaras and has studied under his grandfather, Ustad Wazir Ali, his father, Ustad Ali Jan, and his uncles Ustad Nazir Hussain and Ustad Imdad Hussain. He has also received training in vocal music from Pandit Tansen Pandey. He has performed extensively all over the world and has featured in several All India Radio National Programmes and Akashvani Sangeet Sammelans. He played at the inauguration ceremony of Doordarshan in 1973 and has also played their well known signature tune.

Ajoy Chakrabarty
Pt. Ajoy Chakrabarty is one of the most important vocal musicians of his generation and a popular concert vocalist of India today. He showed such great potential as a child that his father Shri Ajit Chakrabarty initiated him early and afterwards oversaw his training under great teachers like Shri Kanaidas Bairagi, Pandit Jnan Prakash Ghosh and Ustad Munawar Ali Khan. Awarded gold medals in the BA (Honours) and MA examinations of Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata, there is hardly any form of Indian vocal music where his impeccable presentation has not been a mesmerising success. Since June 1983 he has been a guru of the ITC Sangeet Research Academy, which he had joined in 1977 as the first research scholar. In 1993, his deep interest in propagating music among children, prompted him to begin ’Shrutinandan’, a non-profit society that offers a holistic approach to the teaching of music to young people.

Anal Chatterjee - ITC-SRA Scholar
Born on January 1, 1984, Anal Chatterjee was initially guided by his parents and Sri Biswanath Chowdhury and continued his training under Sri Ajit Chakraborty, Smt Chandana Chakraborty and Sri Shantanu Bhattacharya respectively. For the last 8 years, he has been a student of Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty and as a new scholar of ITC SRA since December 2008, continues to train under him. A graduate in English Literature with a Masters in Vocal Music, Anal is a B-High grade artiste in All India Radio. He has received a National Scholarship, has stood first in several well-known music competitions and has performed creditably at several reputed venues.

Anindo Chatterjee
Anindo Chatterjee is a rare phenomenon in the arena of Hindustani Taal Vadya who has taken the art of tabla playing to a new pinnacle. For years now, he has mesmerized audiences far and wide. His individualistic style of playing is marked by dexterity, power and yet, displays an underlying sweetness that speak of years of backbreaking practice and research. Hailing from a musical family, he was deeply influenced by his uncle, Biswanath Chatterjee. His long period of training under the legendary musician, Jnan Prakash Ghosh started when he was only 6. His contribution to the music world has been duly rewarded through a string of honours and awards. These include the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award and Best Performer Award (AICA) among others.

Arshad Ali Khan - ITC-SRA Scholar
One of the youngest scholars of the ITC Sangeet Research Academy (ITC-SRA), Kolkata, Arshad Ali is already a ‘Little Ustad’. He hails from a family of great Kirana Gharana musicians. He is the grandson of the illustrious Sarangi maestro, Padmashree Ustad Shakoor Khan. He is undergoing rigorous musical training from his maternal uncle, Mashkoor Ali Khan, who is a Guru at ITC-SRA. He is also learning from Mashkoor Ali’s younger brother, Mubarak Ali Khan.

In 1993, Arshad was described as "the biggest sensation of the Sawai Gandharva Sammelan", following his performance on a special invitation from the legendary Pandit Bhimsen Joshi on the occasion of his 75th birth anniversary. Today at eighteen, he has already featured in many prestigious musical festivals in India and abroad, holding the audience in spellbound sway with his spontaneous and mature performances. Arshad has been awarded the 'Jadubhatta Purashkar' in 2002. A solo album of his, Murchhana was released in Bangladesh in 2002, while Sparkling Kirana is his most recent release from Saregama India Ltd.

Arun Bhaduri
An artist of great depth and vision, Arun Bhaduri is gifted with a sonorous voice, a brilliant range and a rare fluency. Initially tutored by Md. A.Daud, he received further taalim from Md. Sagiruddin Khan. His talent won him a place at the ITC–SRA as a scholar, where he received training from Ustad Ishtiaq Hussain Khan of the Rampur-Sahaswan gharana. He got further encouragement from Pandit Jnan Prakash Ghosh who taught him both classical and light classical music and also made him aware of the nuances of lyrics. In his pursuit of musical excellence, he has also been greatly influenced by Ustad Amir Khan and has imbibed the great Ustad’s aesthetic qualities. A top-grade radio and television artiste, Arun Bhaduri renders Bengali songs and bhajans with equal ease and has featured at several national concerts and sammelans. He has performed in many foreign countries and has to his credit a number of cassettes and CDs. Arun Bhaduri has also proved his brilliance as an outstanding composer.

Buddhadev Das Gupta
Pandit Buddhadev Das Gupta is the senior most exponent of one of the most authentic sarode gharanas today. One of the better-known cultural ambassadors of our country, he was born in 1933 at Bhagalpur and started his training from the age of ten from the sarode maestro Pandit Radhika Mohan Maitra. His training continued for a period of 38 years until the demise of his teacher – the longest and most intensive training imparted by the great maestro to a disciple.

Since Pandit Radhika Mohan Maitra took his talim from Md. Ameer Khan, whose gharana’s forte was the rabab-style of playing and also from Md. Dabir Khan of the Rampur- Senia gharana, his style is based largely on that of his teacher’s - emerging from a synthesis of the two gharanas. However, it is his unique musical personality that has shaped a distinctive style, completely his own. A deep understanding of the raga, a rare accuracy of the swaras, a superb balance between gayaki and tantrakari, together with powerful bol patterns and fluent ekhara taans, of which he has been a pioneer, mark his music.

He started broadcasting at the age of 16 and has featured in over 20 National concerts and Radio Sangeet Sammelans. A veteran performer at all the major festivals for over five decades, he also has a number of commercial recordings to his credit.

He has done considerable research work on sarode and music in general, and is known for his lucid articles and lectures. He has held audiences spellbound with his bandishes based on Rabindranath Tagore’s songs, a unique concept pioneered by him.

He has been honoured with many awards including the Sangeet Natak Academy Award (1993), Shiromani Award (1989), ITC Award (2002), Ustad Chand Khan Memorial Award (2006), Bhuwalka Award (2006), Legends of India Lifetime Achievement Award (2007) and Pracheen Kala Kendra Award (2007).

Pandit Buddhadev Das Gupta is an accomplished teacher. His education, articulation and communicative abilities have combined with intelligent teaching techniques to ensure that his students become able performers.

At present, he is a Guru of ITC Sangeet Research Academy, Kolkata, and is also as a member of its Experts Committee He is also the Chairman of the West Bengal State Sangeet Academy.

Deborshee Bhattacharjee - ITC-SRA Scholar
Born on February 3, 1985, Deborshee Bhattacharjee received his initial training from his mother, Smt Reena Bhattacharjee. He was ten when he started learning under Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty, and continues to train under him at ITC SRA, where he is now a scholar. A Masters degree holder in Commerce, Deborshee has received an abundance of awards and has also been a prolific performer from the age of ten.

Manali Bose - ITC SRA Scholar
Manali Bose received preliminary training from her parents and then from Smt Debjani Basu, a disciple of late Pandit A. Kanan. An English (Honours) graduate of the University of Calcutta, in 1999 she received a scholarship in khayal from Anun Lund Rej Fund (ALR Fund), Norway. In 1995 she stood first in bhajan in the West Bengal State Music Academy competition and has performed in the Children’s Section and Special Bengali Service of All India Radio. She joined the Academy as a general class student in 1996 and since June 2006 she has become a scholar, being trained by Pandit Arun Bhaduri. She received the ‘Sangeet Piyasi Scholarship’ in khayal in the year 2000-01. Manali has recently stood first in the Khayal category of the All India Radio Music Competition, 2007.

Manilal Nag
Pandit Manilal Nag is the exemplar of the fifth generation of the Nag family of instrumentalists of the Vishnupur Gharana of Bengal, which is generally accepted to be around 300 years old. When he was 5, his father Pandit Gokul Nag initiated him into the art of sitar playing. While in his teens, he passed the Senior Diploma Examination in music from Academy of Dance, Drama & Music, West Bengal (which became Rabindra Bharati University in 1961) with first class honours. He has had the unique opportunity of being close to such musical giants as Ustad Allauddin Khan, Pandit Kanthe Maharaj, Pandit Omkarnath Thakur, Pandit Vinayak Rao Patwardhan, Ustad Hafiz Ali Khan, Ustad Ahmed Jan Thirakwa and many others.

His debut performance was at the age of 14 at the All India Music Conference, where he was accompanied by Pandit Samta Prasad. Since then he has performed at music conferences all over India as well as at International Music Festivals and concerts held at UK, USA, Canada, Italy, France, Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Australia, Japan, Fiji and Nepal. A top graded artiste of All India Radio and Doordarshan, he has played several times for the National Programme of Music and Akashvani Sangeet Sammelan. He has also released several cassettes and CDs from different music companies.

A member of the Central Audition Board of All India Radio, he is also an examiner of the University Grants commission, apart from being on the Expert Committee of the Departments of Music of several State and Central Universities. He has trained innumerable disciples who have made names for themselves. In 2001 he received the ITC Award as well as the prestigious Sangeet Natak Academy award given by the President of India. In 2005 Pracheen Kala Kendra, Chandigarh, honoured him with the Kosher award in recognition of his contribution to music. Recently he has been awarded a Senior Fellowship by the Ministry of Human Resources, Government of India.

Mashkoor Ali Khan
With a blue-blooded musical lineage, Ustad Mashkoor Ali Khan descends from a distinguished line of elders who reigned supreme in the world of music, including the great Ustad Abdul Karim Khan and the legendary Sartaj-e-Mousiqui, Ustad Abdul Wahid Khan, the founders of the famous Kirana gharana. His father, the great sarangi-nawaz, Ustad Shakoor Khan was the grand nephew of Ustad Bande Ali, Beenkar, while Ustad Mehboob Baksh Khan was one of his great grandfathers.

Initiated into music and trained by his father for fifteen years, he secured a place in the world of music very early in life. After his father’s demise, he joined the ITC-Sangeet Research Academy as a scholar in 1981, to polish and hone his undiluted style of Kirana gayakee. Since 1992 as a Guru of the Academy, he has been nurturing several scholars under his able wings. Having inherited a veritable treasure trove of bandishes and an insight into rare ragas that few musicians can boast of, his recitals reveal great imagination and vocal agility. An erudite musician, he possesses a keen understanding of the various "angs" of Kirana gayakee, emphasising the numerous permutations of 'Khandmeru'.

An ‘A’ grade artist of All India Radio (AIR), Mashkoor has performed in prestigious programmes for Radio and Doordarshan, including the National Programme of Music. He has also participated and presented in all major festivals and conferences, both in India and abroad. The Salt Lake Cultural Association honoured him with the 'Bandish Nawaz Award in 1998.

Samarth Nagarkar - ITC-SRA Scholar
Samarth Nagarkar was initiated into Hindustani classical music by Shrimati Aditi Upadhya of Bangalore and later shifted to Mumbai to receive further training from the revered vocalist and guru Pandit Dinkar Kaikini. During this period he also received guidance from other stalwarts like Pandit S. C. R Bhatt, Pandit Balasaheb Poochwale and Shrimati Shashikala Kaikini.

He has won several awards and accolades, the most important being the first position in the All India Radio Music Competition, 2000, after which he became a graded artist of AIR. His concert performances include ‘Young Performers’, NCPA Mumbai (2001), Dadar Matunga Cultural Centre, Mumbai (2001), Devnandan Ubhayaker Yuva Sangeet Utsav, Bangalore (2007) and others. He has also received several scholarships from prestigious music organizations like Sajan Milap, Mumbai and the ‘Pandit K.G.Ginde Memorial Scholarship’ from Sursagar, Bangalore.

Presently, he is a scholar at the ITC Sangeet Research Academy, Kolkata under the able guidance of Pandit Ulhas Kashalkar. In February 2007 he performed creditably at the ITC Mini Sangeet Sammelan at Kanpur.

Sameehan Ulhas Kashalkar - ITC-SRA Scholar
Born in 1986, Sameehan Ulhas Kashalkar is the son and disciple of the renowned vocalist of the present generation, Pandit Ulhas Kashalkar. Growing up in a musical environment, in June 2003, he became a scholar at the ITC Sangeet Research Academy, Kolkata. He is receiving authentic talim from his celebrated father who has been a guru of the Academy since 1992. Sameehan has performed solo at Wednesday recitals at the Academy and elsewhere, and has also given his father vocal support at several concerts.

Sandip Bhattacharjee - ITC-SRA Scholar
Born in 1980, Sandip Bhattacharjee began his training under his mother Shrimati Krishna Bhattacharya at the age of four and continued his talim under Shrimati Amita Dasgupta. Later he learnt from Ustad Mubarak Ali Khan. In May 2002 he became a residential scholar at the ITC Sangeet Research Academy under the able guidance of Ustad Mashkoor Ali Khan, Guru of the Kirana Gharana.

He attained the second position at the All India Radio Music Competition (1999) in khayal and stood first at the West Bengal State Music Competition (2001) in bhajan. He was also a recipient of the National Talent Search Scholarship, Govt. of India in 2001. An ‘A’ grade performer of AIR and Doordarshan, Kolkata, he has received the title of ‘Sur Mani’ from the Sur Singar Samsad, Mumbai.

Apart from performing at various places in and around Kolkata, he has participated in major concerts at Madhav Sangeet Maha Vidyalaya, Gwalior, Bharatiya Nritya Kalamandir, Patna and Swar Vilas, Vadodara. In September 2006 he accompanied and performed with the ITC Sangeet Research Academy musicians touring USA. In December 2006 he performed at the ITC Mini Sangeet Sammelan at Raipur.

Ananda Gopal Bandopadhyay - Tabla
Initiated into music by his father, Ananda Gopal Bandyopadhyay was later trained by Pandit Mahadeo Prasad Mishra of the Benaras gharana. A top graded artiste of All India Radio, Ananda Gopal has had a brilliant and successful career as a tabla player, who is adept both as a soloist and an accompanist. He is a widely travelled artiste and has played with virtually all the leading performers of Hindustani music at festivals all over the world. Apart from his performances, he was associated with many prestigious organisations like the Song & Drama Division (Delhi), Faculty of Music & Fine Arts (Delhi University) and the Amir Khusro Society, Chicago. He has been a full time faculty member of ITC Sangeet Research Academy for over twenty years.

Chandrabhan Sreesundar - Tabla
Born in Mumbai, Chandrabhan was trained from the age of eight by Pandit Badri Prasad Mishra of the Benaras gharana. Showing a keen interest in tabla as well as in vocal music, he quickly matured into a highly sought after tabla player. A sensitive accompanist to both instrumental and vocal artistes, he has had the distinction of accompanying maestros such as Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Sharafat Khan, Hirabai Barodkar, Jitendra Abhisheki, Basavraj Rajguru, Vinayak Rao Parwardhan and Manik Verma. He has been a casual staff artiste of All India Radio, and has participated at most of the prestigious music festivals in India as well as abroad for over three decades. Simple and true to his art, Chandrabhan was attached to the ITC Sangeet Research Academy as a full time faculty member since its inception right up to 2008.

Gopal Mishra - Tabla
Gopal Mishra comes from a traditional family of musicians. He started his training on the Tabla under his father Shri Damodar Mishra, the son of Pandit Bundi Maharaj of the Benaras gharana. He plays as a soloist as well as an accompanist with equal ease and flourish. He has accompaniment to numerous musicians and dancers.

Gopal Mishra has played the Tabla in various music conferences all over India and abroad. He is an ‘A’ graded artist of All India Radio (AIR) and Doordarshan. Presently, he is a faculty member at the ITC Sangeet Research Academy.

Jyoti Goho - Harmonium
Inspired by his mother’s melodious voice, Jyoti Goho developed a keen interest in music, which was carefully nurtured by his parents. He was trained in harmonium playing by Shri Deb Kumar Banerjee. He also has profound knowledge of vocal music in which his mentors were Sanat Banerjee, Biren Bose and Pandit A. Kanan. He is thus able to heighten the mood and spirit of any performance. Known for his sensitive playing and appropriate embellishments, his supportive role has been acknowledged by maestros like Pandit Bhimsen Joshi. Shri Jyoti Goho has performed with all the great vocalists of Hindustani classical music, appearing at the major music conferences in India and abroad. He is currently a faculty member of the ITC Sangeet Research Academy.

Ramesh Mishra - Sarangi
Born in 1952, Ramesh Mishra is one of the outstanding exponents of sarangi from the Benaras gharana and represents the twenty-third generation of sarangi players in his family. Initiated by the great sarangi maestro late Pandit Gopal Mishra and later groomed by his father late Pandit Ramnath Mishra, For several years now, Ramesh Mishra has been under the tutelage of legendary Sitar maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar. The association has brought both the maestro and the disciple together in performances, recordings and projects all over the world. An artiste of All India Radio and Doordarshan, he has accompanied almost all the leading musicians of India and performed in numerous conferences and festivals all over the world both as a soloist and as an accompanist. He has been honoured by the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for his sincere service to music.

Rupashree Bhattacharya - Harmonium
Born into a family of musicians, Rupashree Bhattacharya was initially tutored in vocal music by her father, Shri Durga Charan Bhattacharya. She later learnt from Shri Ashit Bandopadhyay, Smt. Shipra Bose and Shri Sanjoy Chakrabarty. In 1996 she became a scholar of the ITC Sangeet Research Academy under the tutelage of Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty. Noticing her innate talent in playing the harmonium, her guru gradually guided her through the intricacies and exacting standards of accompaniment. As an ITC SRA scholar, she also received dhrupad and dhamar training from Pandit Falguni Mitra, Guru-Prefect, ITC SRA. She has matured into a sensitive and unobtrusive accompanist. A graded artist of All India Radio, she is a faculty member of ITC Sangeet Research Academy, Kolkata.

Samar Saha - Tabla
Initially trained by his father, late Sudhangshu Bhusan Saha and his elder brother, Shri Tarak Saha, Samar Saha received extensive talim in Tabla from Shri Satchidananda Goswami and later from Shri Krishna Kumar Ganguly (Natu Babu) of the Benaras gharana. A much sought after soloist as well as an accompanist today, Samar has participated in all the prestigious music festivals and conferences in India and abroad. He has been a full time Faculty member of ITC Sangeet Research Academy almost since its inception.

Sandip Kumar Ray Chaudhuri - Tabla
Sandip Kumar Ray Chaudhuri hails from a family of musicians and was initiated into tabla by his father, Late Abani Ray Chaudhuri. Sandip received further guidance from his uncle, Shri Anil Ray Chaudhuri, Professor of tabla at Rabindra Bharati, Kolkata. He has also learned from Shri Manik Pal, Shri Radhakanta Nandy and Shri Debnath Chakrabarty. Quite adept at accompanying both the classical and commercial artistes, Sandip has played with stalwarts of both the worlds with equal ease. A ‘B-High’ grade artiste of All India Radio and Doordarshan he is currently a staff musician at the ITC Sangeet Research Academy. He is a ‘Gold Medalist’ from Sangeet Prabhakar.

Swapan Mukherjee - Tabla

Son of Shri Biswanath Mukherjee, a dhrupad exponent, Swapan Mukherjee grew up with music all around him. Initiated into music by his father he received extensive talim from stalwarts like Shri Gulu Chakrabarty, Pandit Mahapurush Mishra of the Benaras gharana, Rai Bahadur Keshav Chandra Banerjee of the Delhi gharana, Shri Santosh Krishna Biswas of the Lucknow gharana and Ustad Shawkat Ali Khan of the Farukkabad gharana. A sought-after accompanist, Swapan Mukherjee is a familiar name in music circles and is at present he is one of the staff musicians of ITC Sangeet Research Academy, Kolkata.

Tarak Saha - Tabla
Born in a family of musicians, Tarak Saha was initiated into the art of tabla playing at the tender age of six by his father, Sudhangshu Bhushan Saha. Later he learnt from Satchidananda Goswami before becoming a formal disciple of the renowned maestro of the Benaras gharana, Krishna Kumar Ganguly (Natu Babu). Over the years, he has matured into a most sensitive and competent accompanist and has played with many a great artiste, especially vocalists. A regular performer on Akashvani and Doordarshan, he is a regular accompanist of the ITC Sangeet Research Academy.