PROGRAM:
3.15 pm: Welcome Address
3.20 pm: Khyal and semiclassical presentation by Sanchari Bhattacharyya, accompanied by Pinusen Das on the Tabla and Srikar Ayyalasomayajula on the Harmonium.
4.25 pm: Sitar recital by Indro Roy-Chowdhury accompanied by Mir Naqibul Islam on the Tabla.
Informal interaction with the audience and a QnA session on music will follow after the program till 6.25 pm.
Kindly take your seats by 3.20 pm.
Thank you all very much.
Team MandraSaptak Baithaks USA in collaboration with ChaarPrahar.
https://www.instagram.com/mandrasaptakbaithaks/profilecard/?igsh=MTZuanl2Z25xeDF1YQ==https://www.chaarprahar.org/About the Artists:
INDRO ROY-CHOWDHURY Indrajit Roy-Chowdhury is one of the most talented young exponents of Rampur Senia Gharana in the venerated lineage of, Pandit Birendra Kishore Roy Chowdhury and Pandit Subroto Roy Chowdhury. Primarily trained in the Veen-Kar style of Sitar which draws techniques and idioms of the Veena, Indrajit has been able to carve a niche for himself with his eclecticism and versatility. Indrajit strives for a fine balance of traditionalism coupled with innovation and is renowned for his meditative alaap and brilliant taans.
Indrajit is based out of New York and maintains a rigorous tour schedule across the continents. As an international artist, Indrajit has performed in a range of distinguished venues, notably: Dover Lane Music Conference, Kolkata, Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington DC, The Lincoln Center, New York, The Hammerstein Theater of New York, Toronto National Convention Center, Berlin Indian Embassy, Concordia Arts Poznan, Poland, Chayanaut Auditorium, Dhaka and Ramakrishna Mission Cultural Centre, Kolkata.
Indrajit has given numerous performances on Radio Stations including WKCR (New York City), WCR (Wolverhampton, UK). He is known for his mesmerizing performances on various Doordarshan Programs namely: Telescope, DD Bangla’s 20th Annniversary, Camera Cholche and Sokal Sokal. He was recently invited for a captivating performance on a morning show by Tara Muzik called Aaj Sokaler Amontrone. Indrajit has also embellished various NBC shows with his music compositions.
Brought up between USA and India, Indrajit has a rich diversified background to draw from which is clearly observed in his collaborations and own compositions. As a versatile and creative musician, he has performed with distinguished artists from other genres including the acclaimed Jazz artist, Wynton Marsalis. Indrajit has also collaborated with the Orchestra- Jazz at Lincoln Center and the same was featured in the film “Song of Lahore” which was premiered in Tribeca Film Festival.
In addition to his collaborations and tour performances, Indrajit is an arduous and a disciplined teacher. He was a visiting faculty of the renowned Department of Indian Classical Music at University of Pennsylvania and has conducted many student workshops in USA, UK and India. Indrajit is currently running Kolkata Sitar School, founded by his Guru, Pandit Subroto Roy Chowdhury and is humbly carrying his legacy by teaching many students around the world under his tutelage.
https://www.indrositar.com/bioMIR NAQIBUL ISLAM Mir Naqibul Islam is a New York based tabla artist from “Farukhabad '' gharana. He has been trained in the traditional guru-shisya style of South Asian Classical music from Pt. Ashoke Paul, disciple of the great tabla guru Pt. Jnan Prakash Ghosh. Mir presents tabla solo recitals and regularly accompanies artists from the South Asian tradition. He also collaborates with musicians from a wide variety of genres, bringing tabla to Jazz, Chamber Music, Middle-Eastern music, hip hop and other contexts. He is continuing his training with the great Farukhabad Master Pt Anindo Chatterjee and Pt. Ashoke Paul.
https://www.instagram.com/mir_tabla?igsh=MWlqZ3Y5NzVwc2g2PINUSEN DASPinusen Das learned the tabla in his childhood from his father Pandit Ramkanai Das. Later, he studied tabla with Pandit Samar Saha, Pandit Suresh Talowalkar and Pandit Biplab Bhattacharya.
In 1993 he joined the national radio broadcast service of Bangladesh "Bangladesh Betar" and in 2001 Bangladesh Television (BTV) as a regular drummer. As a tabla player, he has played tabla with many famous classical music artists of Bangladesh and India.National Akhangang Sangeet Conference in Sylhet in 1995, Music Conference of Hindol Cultural Group in Rajshahi in 1997, "Sangeetchakra" Classical Music Conference in Silchar, India in the same year, Sadarong National Sangeet Conference in Chittagong in 2002 and Chaynat Shuddha Sangeet Utsav in 2010 and participated in many national music conferences.
He served as tabla teacher for a long time in Chayanot Sangeet Vidyayatan, a traditional music education institution of Bangladesh. He was also engaged as tabla accompanist at Dhaka Bengal Parampara Sangeetala with Pandit Ulhas Kushalkar, Pandit Kushal Das, Pandit Tejendra Narayan Majumder.
In 2007 Tabla Education book 'Tabla Sahaj Path' was published. In 2024, another book of his called "Bangladesh Kirtiman Tablasadhak" was published on the life and work of one hundred years of talented tabla players of Bangladesh.He is actively engaged in tabla teaching and playing tabla in various events in New York.
SANCHARI BHATTACHARYYA Sanchari is a vocalist in the field of Hindusthani Classical Music, namely Khyal and semi-classical genre. She is currently a disciple of Guru Sri Anjan Majumdar for almost a decade.
However, Sanchari's musical journey started in her childhood with Nazrulgeeti under the tutelage of Late Smt.Chhondita Dutta, followed by short term trainings several other respected Gurus. To name a few, they were Smt.Anasuya Mukhopadhyay, Sri Pratap Roy, Smt.Banani Ghosh and Sri Jayanto Bose. Sanchari learnt Rabindrasangeet under the tutelage of Guru Sri Suranjan Roy for a few years, and performs in parallel.
A scientist in the field of cancer drug discovery, Sanchari has excelled in academia with a doctorate degree and several years of postdoctoral training and is a resident of New York City since two decades.
The musical training took a new turn since she started talim under Guru Sri Anjan Majumdar. Starting at the grassroot level and with the most exceptional teaching method of her renowned Guru, also a music director and composer, Sanchari pursued khyal and thumri gayan, with no looking back. This has been a life-changing experience for a student, as it started quite late in life.
Sanchari received a Sangeet Visharad degree in Nazrulgeeti, Chandigarh, with a distinction in 1998.
After a long gap, with Guru's grace and inspiration, Sanchari has performed in Shadaj, Massachusetts, Karnatic and Hindusthani Music Circle, New Hampshire, in 2022
Guru's Silver Jubilee Celebration in Kolkata, 2023 and on some more local and online platforms. She was an invited lecturer in the Department of Music, Dartmouth College, New Hampshire in 2023.
Apart from her Ryaz, teaching beginners in the USA and scientific profession, she always initiated hosting concerts in her own capacity, to promote Indian Classical Music and support first generation musicians. MandraSaptak Baithaks USA, was founded by her in 2013 and has hosted a few baithaks in the past.
https://www.instagram.com/sancharibeemusic?igsh=MXRmendwMjh0OGl4bg==SRIKAR AYYALASOMAYAJULASrikar grew up in central New Jersey and currently lives in Brooklyn. He has learnt Harmonium from Guru Sri Hemant Kulkarni in New Jersey for over ten years. Srikar has performed harmonium solo pieces in a number of concerts and competitions in harmonium growing up, including winning first prize in national competitions conducted by Marathi Vishwa, Academy of Indian Music and Fine Arts, Bharat Sevashram, etc. Apart from solo performances, Srikar has also provided dynamic as energetic Harmonium saath to artists from around the world regularly for over a decade. Srikar was also the Music Chair of Michigan Sahana, the premier Indian Classical Music and Dance Organization at the University of Michigan and had been organizing and performing in their concerts throughout his time at the university. After graduating, Srikar had been continuing to be a part of both classical accompaniment and fusion collaborations across the country. Apart from music, Srikar currently works at Google as a Software Engineer in New York City.