Pandit Arun Bhaduri

An artiste of great depth and vision, Arun Bhaduri is gifted with a deep and sonorous voice, a brilliant range and a rare fluency. He was born in Murshidabad, West Bengal, on October 7, 1943. He was initially tutored by Mohammed A. Daud. He thereafter acquired a wealth of learning from Mohammed Sagiruddin Khan on the finer points, nuances and embellishments of Hindustani Classical Music. His talent won him a place at the ITC Sangeet Research Academy as a Musician Scholar.

At ITC-SRA, Bhaduri received training from the Late Ustad Ishtiaq Hussain Khan of the Rampur-Sahaswan gharana. Padmashree Pandit Jnan Prakash Ghosh subsequently taught him both classical and light classical music, and made him aware of the nuances in lyrics. In his pursuit of musical excellence, he has also been greatly influenced by Ustad Ameer Khan and has imbibed the late Ustad’s aesthetic qualities. Arun Bhaduri has fused all these styles beautifully to create an inimitable style of his own. He also renders Bengali songs and Bhajans with equal ease.

Bhaduri has been a Guru of the ITC Sangeet Research Academy for more than a decade now. He is also a top grade radio and television artiste and has made his mark in the world of music with his effective blending of imagination and organised demonstration. He has performed at numerous national concerts and sammelans in India and abroad. He has to his credit a number of cassettes and CDs, including those on Music Lessons released by the West Bengal State Music Academy. This outstanding artiste, with magic in his music, is also a remarkable composer.

Abir Hossain

Abir Hossain was born into a musical family of Burdwan, West Bengal. His father Gulam Emam was his first mentor in music, both his parents being students of the revered Pandit D.T.Joshi. At the age of 12 he came under the tutelage of sarod maestro Pandit Buddhadev Das Gupta, whose residence soon became his second home. As a scholar of ITC-SRA, he continues to receive talim from his Guru even today, being well on his way to becoming a torch bearer of the Seni-Shajahanpur Gharana. Abir has been the recipient of many laurels: he stood second in the Talent Search Contest conducted by the Ravi Kichlu Foundation in 1995, won the National Scholarship of Government of India in 1997 and has also won the gold medal at the ‘Sangeet Prabhakar’ examination. He has performed at several venues at Kolkata, Bangalore, Patna (Sangeet Natak Akademi), Bilaspur, Vishakhapatnam, Chandigarh as well as ITC Mini Sangeet Sammelan, Raipur (2005), Ballygunge Maitreyee Music Circle (2001, 2003 & 2006), ITC Sangeet Sammelan, Delhi (2007) and ITC Sangeet Sammelan, Kolkata (2009). Recently he has become a musician-scholar of the ITC Sangeet Research Academy.

Madhusudan Barman & Gopal Barman – (Tabla & Sreekhol jugalbandi)

For the Barman Brothers, Madhusudan and Gopal, inspiration came early at the age of four, from their father, Late Barendra Mohan Barman, who established their foundations as percussionists on the tabla and sreekhol. The boys displayed amazing dexterity and could hold the audience spellbound even at that young age. Gopal Barman, the younger of the two, went on to specialize in the intricacies of the Sreekhol from Prof. Sanatan Saha of Rabindra Bharati University , Calcutta . It was finally the experienced guidance of Pandit Shankar Ghosh, the tabla maestro of international repute that gave the Barman Brothers the confidence to perform on the world stage. There has been no looking back ever since.

The music produced by the Barman Brothers is a novel jugalbandi of the popular tabla played by Madhusudan and the Sreekhol mastered by Gopal. The lesser known sreekhol is used primarily in devotional songs. The two brothers recognized the beauty of the combined sounds and created a series of novel blends. As pioneers of this dramatic new sound, the dynamic young duo has not only been able to take Indian classical music to a new dimension, they have also been able to reach out to a much larger audience, far beyond the Classical milieu. The new combination has already left a powerful yet refreshingly different impact on music lovers, both in India and abroad.

Madhu, went on to receive the prestigious National Scholarship in 1986-88 from the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Govt. of India, for his remarkable maestry of the tabla. Both Madhu and Gopal were bestowed the honourary title of Sangeet Visharad’ by the Pracheen Kala Kendra, Chandigarh . The brothers have also mastered the art of other percussion instruments like the Dholak as well as the Spanish Guitar, Harmonium, Keyboards etc. The young Barman Brothers have received welcome support as accompanists to renowned classical artists of India . Their prolonged association with AIR and TV has also given them an opportunity to prove their mettle as rhythm artists in non classical items also.

Sanchita Chowdhury

Born in 1971, Sanchita Chowdhury, a young Dhrupad singer of the Dagarvani Style of Dhrupad, has established herself as a promising vocalist. She started her training under her father, Pandit Amar Nath Dey and went on to train under Smt Kaberi Kar and Pandit Devshankar Dwivedi. Presently, she is under the talim of Ustad Fariduddinn Khan Dagar.

Sanchita has performed all over the country winning acclaim. She has been awarded the “Certificate of Appreciation” from Akhil Bharatiya Dhrupad Mela (Varanasi). She is also the proud recipient of “Sangeetacharya Girija Shankar Chakrabarty Award” from Rabindra Bharati for excellence in classical (Vocal) music. She was awarded the 1st prize in Dhrupad at the state-wide Rajya Sangeet Academy Competition.

Sanchita is a regular artiste of All India Radio. She has also performed for Doordarshan, Aakash Bangla and Tara Bangla TV channels. Sanchita holds a master’s degree in Music from Rabindra Bharati University and is presently a Guest Lecturer of Vocal Music there.

Sayanee Chavda

Sayanee Chavda is one of the upcoming talents in the field of Kathak Dance. A Physics Honours graduate, she showed a very strong interest and flair for dancing from the age of two and half years. For the past ten years she has been undergoing training from Pandit Vijai Shankar, a noted disciple of Pandit Birju Maharaj and has studied the nuances of Lucknow gharana. She remains a keen learner and is in constant pursuit of knowledge and excellence. In recognition of her talent the Govt. of India awarded her a National Scholarship. She also received the title of “Sangeet Kalaratna”. An expressive performer, she effortlessly combines grace and rhythm in her dance.

Sucheta Ganguly

Born in 1984, Sucheta Ganguly was initiated into the world of Hindustani music by her father, Bhajan Krishna Ganguly, at the age of seven. Subsequently, she also learnt from Sujit Ganguly of Bishnupur gharana. She has won the first prize at a State level music competition in 1994 and is a regular performer on All India Radio and Doordarshan.

She joined ITC Sangeet Research Academy in the year 2000 as a General Class student under the tutelage of ITC SRA Guru Pandit Arun Bhaduri and from 2003 she has been a full time residential scholar. Her memorable performances include solo recitals at the ‘Guru-Shishya presentation’ (2006), ITC Sangeet Sammelan, Mumbai (2007) and a jugalbandi performance at the ‘Navonmesh Utsav’ (2008). In 2009, she stood first in her graduation in music from SNDT Women’s University. She is presently completing her post-graduation.

Apurbalal Manna

One of the better – known accompanists of the present generation, Apurbalal Manna was initiated into the art by Pandit Rajib Lochan De. Later he learnt from Shri Gurudas Ghosh. Presently he is being guided by Pandit Dalchand Sharma. Known for his intelligent and tuneful accompaniment of most of the senior artistes of today, he is also slowly but surely making a name as a soloist. A B-high graded artiste of All India Radio, he is a regular concert performer and is a guest lecturer of Rabindra Bharati University.

Gourab Chatterjee

Gourab Chatterjee was introduced to Hindustani vocal music at the age of five by his mother. After her demise, he began to receive training from Jainul Abedin, a renowned vocalist of the Agra tradition. He went on to become a General Class student at the ITC SRA and then a scholar, under the tutelage of Arun Bhaduri. Apart from being a promising vocalist, Gourab is also an accomplished accompanist on the harmonium. Gourab completed his training in March 2006.

Rupashree Bhattacharya

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. Rupashree, a proficient vocalist herself, quickly imbibed his teaching and has been able to attain the perfection that Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty had instilled in her. As an ITC SRA scholar, she received dhrupad and dhamar training from Pandit Falguni Mitra, Guru-Prefect, ITC SRA. She has matured into a sensitive and unobtrusive accompanist. A B-High graded artist of All India Radio, she has been a faculty member of ITC Sangeet Research Academy, since 2004.

Sarwar Hussain

Sarwar Hussain is one of the most accomplished and promising musicians of the younger generation of Sarangi exponents in India. He was born on 5th October 1981, at Gohad district near Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh his musical heritage comes from a long line of distinguished Sarangi exponents from Gohad.

His ancestry can be traced back six generations to Ustad Fazal Khan, father of Ustad Ghansi Khan, famous for his mastery of the intricate Tappa Style. Ustad Ghansi Khan taught his sons who included Ustad Chhuttu Khan, Ustad Garru Khan and Ustad Uday Khan, who were the father and paternal uncles and gurus of Padmashree Ustad Abdul Latif Khan, Sarwar’s eminent grandfather and guru.

Sarwar’s father, Anwar Hussain is also a well-known musician. Sarwar began learning Sarangi from his grandfather when he was nine. The superb ‘taleem’ that he received for eleven years is clearly reflected in his playing style. His playing embodies the intricate delicacy of his grandfather’s style as well as the techniques which his grandfather learned from one of the most famous Sarangi exponents of the first half of the last century, Ustad Bade Ghulam Sabir Khan Ambala Wale.

An A grade artist of All India Radio and Doordarshan, Sarwar has received many awards for his outstanding performance.

Samar Saha

Known for his dexterity and rare musicianship, Samar Saha was initially trained by his father Shri Sudhangshu Bhusan Saha and his elder brother Shri Tarak Saha. Later he received extensive taalim from Shri Satchidananda Goswami before becoming a disciple of Shri Krishna Kumar Ganguly (Natu Babu) of the Benaras gharana. A much sought-after soloist as well as an accompanist, he has participated in all the prestigious music festivals in India and overseas, accompanying vocalists and instrumentalists alike. He has been a full time faculty member of ITC Sangeet Research Academy since its inception. Since 1993, he has been encouraging young performers by organising concerts and awarding scholarships through the non-governmental organisation 'Sangeet Piyasi'.

Tarak Saha

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 at the ITC Sangeet Research Academy.