Abir Hossain

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.

Brajeshwar Mukherjee

Born at Burdwan on March 11, 1984, Brajeshwar Mukherjee was initiated by his parents and later learnt from Shri Hara Kumar Chatterjee and Shri Asit Roy. He was then accepted as a disciple by Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty and continues to train under him at ITC-SRA, where he is a scholar since May 2009. In 2005 he came first in the B.A Examination in music from Calcutta University and received the “Dhananjay Bhattacharya Award”.

Since 2000 he has been teaching at Shrutinandan, the music school established by Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty. Since 2003 he has accompanied his Guru on the harmonium or provided vocal support in concerts in different parts of India as well as USA, Canada, UK and Middle East. A B-High graded artist of All India Radio, he had earlier won the Govt. of India’s National Scholarship. In 2009 he stood 1st Class 2nd in the Masters degree in Music from Calcutta University.

Mallar Rakshit

Born in 1986, Mallar Rakshit was initiated into classical music by his parents Shri Ratan Kumar Rakshit and Smt Tapati Rakshit. He later took talim in Sarod from Shri Supriya Banerjee, disciple of the renowned Vidushi Annapurna Devi. He joined ITC SRA as a general student in 2006 under sarod maestro Pandit Buddhadev Dasgupta and has recently become a scholar here. Mallar was awarded a National Scholarship from the Department of Culture, Govt. of India this year. He is currently completing his Bachelors degree from Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata.

Sameehan Kashalkar

Sameehan U Kashalkar is the son and disciple of renowned vocalist, Ulhas Kashalkar. Born in a family steeped in melody and music, Sameehan is receiving authentic ‘talim’ from his celebrated father. Presently, he is an “A” grade scholar at the ITC Sangeet Research Academy, Kolkata. He is also undergoing Thumri-Dadra training from the prima donna of Benaras tradition Vidushi Girija Devi.

Sameehan's debut performance at Aundh Mahotsav (near Pune) at the age of 13, where he was accompanied on the tabla by Pt Suresh Talwalkar, won him many accolades. He has also performed at the prestigious National Gallery of Australia in the National Multicultural Festival held at Canberra along with his father.

Sandip Bhattacharjee

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.

Sohini Bhattacharya

Born in a musical family, Sohini Bhattacharya was initiated by Shrimati Chandana Chakraborty at the early age of four. When she was 9, she joined Shrutinandan', where she receiving training from Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty for ten years. The recipient of a two-year scholarship from Saurabh Academy of Music, Dance and Fine Arts, she has just appeared for her graduation in vocal music from Rabindra Bharati University. In July 2009, she joined the ITC Sangeet Research Academy as a scholar.

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.

Indranil Bhaduri - Tabla

Born in 1973, Indranil Bhaduri began learning the tabla when he was 10, from late Guru Satyanarayan Saha of the Benaras gharana. For the last ten years he has been a disciple of Pandit Sanjoy Mukhopadhyay of the Farukhabad gharana.

A Graduate with Honours in Accountancy, he is a “B-High” graded artiste of All India Radio and has accompanied both vocalists and instrumentalists at numerous concerts in several cities in India as well as Muscat, Canada, USA and UK.

Jyoti Goho - Harmonium

Hearing his mother’s melodious voice, Jyoti Goho developed a keen interest in music. Initially trained by Shri Sanat Banerjee and thereafter, Shri Biren Bose, Jyoti became a disciple of Pandit A.Kanan. Jyoti Goho developed the art of playing the Harmonium under the tutelage of Shri Deb Kumar Banerjee. Aided by his knowledge of vocal music, he bloomed into a competent and sensitive Harmonium accompanist. The ability to understand and adjust according to the mood and spirit of the performer has made Jyoti popular amongst all the eminent vocalists of the present generation. His art has taken him to music conferences and programmes all over India and abroad. Jyoti Goho is a senior Faculty member of the ITC Sangeet Research Academy, Kolkata.

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

For years now, Samar Saha has been widely known for his dexterous tabla and rare musicianship. With his matured sense of accompaniment he contributes immensely to any raga sangeet performance and is a boon to every vocalist or instrumentalist. Born in Kolkata, he was initially trained by his father, Sudhangshu Bhusan Saha and his elder brother, Tarak Saha. Later, he received extensive talim from Satchidananda Goswami and from Krishna Kumar Ganguly (Natu Babu) of the Benaras gharana. A much sought-after artiste today, he has played with some of the greatest stalwarts of Hindustani music and has participated in all the prestigious music festivals in India and overseas. He has been a full time faculty member of ITC Sangeet Research Academy almost since its inception.

Sarwar Hussain - Sarangi

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.