Rising Talents
The Next Generation
The legacy of the Shahjahanpur Gharana of Sarod continues with the next generation of Sarodias. Like the great maestros of this Gharana, these musicians, some of whom are already well established in the classical music scene in India and abroad, have continued the Guru-Shishya Parampara or the great Indian tradition where knowledge is passed on from Guru to the Shishya (disciple) through the ages. Pandit Radhika Mohan Maitra saw to it that the Shahjahanpur tradition of the Sarod did not end with him and produced a number of talented students, most of whom have gone on to make a mark in the Indian Classical Music scene in various corners of the globe. Likewise, they also trained a number of young talented people, who have grown up to take the mantle of the Gharana forward with them.
Joydeep Ghosh
One of the youngest disciples of Pt. Radhika Mohan Maitra, Joydeep grew up in a family of genuine music lovers. Pandit Anil Roy Chowdhury, one of the senior most disciples of Radhika Mohan, opened the doors of Indian Classical Music before a four year old Joydeep when he took him under his wing. Later, when Joydeep grew up a little bit, both in maturity and dexterity, Roy Chowdhury took him to his guru, Pt. Maitra. Joydeep was soon being groomed to become a fine musician under Radhika Mohan’s watchful eye and performed with him on many occasions. After the maestro’s untimely death, Joydeep started to take lessons from Pt. Buddhadev Dasgupta and Pt. Bimalendu Mukherjee, a doyen of the famous Imdadkhani Gharana of Sitar and Surbahar. Having been enriched by the training of two different Gharanas or Sarod and Surbahar, Joydeep has developed a technique of playing the Sarod and Sur-Shringar of his own. Joydeep has also received training in Tabla under Pandit Amal Sarkar, Ustad Shaukat Ali Khan and Anil Palit. To complete his training in Indian Classical Music in all aspects, he has also received lessons in vocal music from Pt. Amaresh Chandra Chaudhury.
Joydeep is the recipient of many awards including the National Talent Search Scholarship of the Government of India. In 1978, he was awarded the first prize in the Instrumental group of the All India Radio Music competition. He has a ‘Sangeet Praveen’ (M. Mus) diploma from Prayag Sangeet Samiti in Allahabad, coming first in an all India rank with Gold Medals in four areas. This talented Sarodia has performed in major music conferences in almost all major cities of India, the Sangeet Natak Academy Music Festival and the Ustad Hafiz Ali Khan Memorial concert, being worthy of special mention. He has toured across Europe playing in concerts in England, Germany, France, Holland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark.
Joydeep now lives in Khairagarh in the state of Madhya Pradesh in India, where he is a senior lecturer in Sarod at the Indira Kala Sangeet University.
Anirban Dasgupta
Anirban is the youngest son and disciple of Pt. Buddhadev Dasgupta. Needless to mention, he grew up with the very best ambience of Indian Classical music, with his older sibling, Bhavani Shankar also following his father’s footsteps. Not to be left behind, Anirban also took to playing the Sarod from an early age under the able guidance and tutelage of his illustrious father. A wonderful product of innate talent, years of grueling toil and delicate musical nurture, Anirban remains an extremely humble and self-effacing artist. In 1987, he stood first in the All India Radio Music Competition. He has performed widely in India as well as in the UK, Netherlands, Germany, Belgium and USA. He released his first CD album in 2002 from the Netherlands. Anirban has followed his father’s footsteps in balancing a dynamic musical career with commendable academic and professional pursuits. He holds a Masters degree in Electrical Engineering from Jadavpur University, Calcutta and is employed as a senior IT executive in New Jersey, USA where he presently lives.
Debasish Bhattacharya
Debasish is probably the senior-most amongst the current disciples of Pt. Buddhadev Dasgupta. Born in 1963 in a musical family, Debasish started training in music at an early age under his father Shyam Sundar Bhattacharya, who played the Sitar. A few years later, Debasish moved to learning the Sarod from Ravi Laha, a disciple of Pt. Radhika Mohan Maitra. He became a disciple of Pt. Dasgupta in 1981 and has received extensive training from the maestro till date. Along with this training, he has worked hard to be recognized as one of the most promising Sarodias in India and an able torch-bearer of the Shahjahanpur Gharana.
Debasish has earned accolades from his performances at premier music conferences all over India, such as the Prayag Sangit Samity annual convocation at Allahabad, Madhya Pradesh Kala Parishad conference in Bhopal, and the Vishnu Digambar Jayanti festival in New Delhi, to name a few. He is also a top-graded Sarodia on All India Radio and a lecturer at Rabindra Bharati University in Calcutta.