Told by	Maharaj Banerjee
Obtained by	Sanjoy Bandopadhyay and Dilip Mukherjee
Date	05 July, 2015
Place	Sati Sadan, 41, Harish Mukherjee Road, Bhowanipur, Kolkata 700025
About Maharaj Banerjee	Son and disciple of Pt. Montu Banerjee [Tabla, Sarod, Harmonium]. Disciple of Pt. Muneshwar Dayal [Harmonium], Ustd. Ahmedjan Thirakawa.   [Tabla].
Tags	1935, Patuatala, Abid Hussein Khan, Mantu Banerjee, Hiru Ganguli, Rai Chand Boral, Raichand, Baral, Masid Khan, Nara Bandha (Ganda bandhan), Muneshwar Dayal, harmonium, tabla.
Language	Bengali

Maharaj Banerjee speaks :

Verbatim:

???? ???? ??? ???? ???????? ???? ???? ???? ?????????? ?????? ???? ????? ??? ??????? ?????

-?? ??????? ?? ?????? ?? ?????

– ?? ?????? ?? ???????? ???? ?????????? ?????? ???? ??? ??????? ?????? ???? ?????-?? ???? ????? ???? ????? ????????, ???????????? ????????????? ???? ???? ??? ????? ???? ???? ???????? ????????? ??? ????????? ?????????  ????? ??????

– ???? ????? ???? ?????? ????? ???????????

-?????? ????? ?? ?????? ????? ??????????? ???? ????? ????? ????????? ???? ??? ??? ??? ??–????? ?? ????? ??, ?????, ???? ???? ????????? ???? ???? ????? ????? ??? ???????? ???? ?????, ?????? ????? ??????? ???? ????? ??????-???? ???? ???, ??? ???, ????? ??? ??????? ?? ??? ?????? ???? ????? ??? ??????? ???? ???? ???? ?????? ?? -???? ???, ????? ??? ???? ???????? ?????? ???????? ????? ??????? ???? ????-?? ???? ?????????? ???? ???? ?? ??????? ??? ????? ?????? ??? ????? ??? ?? ?????? ???? ??? ????? ?? ????? ???? ??????? ?????? ???? ????? ???? ????? ????? ????? ??? ???? ??? ??????? ???? ???? ??? ?????? ????????? ????? ?????????? ??????? ???? ????? ???? ??? ???? ?????? ? ?? ????? ???????? ???? ??????? ??????? ????? ??? ??? ???? ???? ????? ????? ????? ?????? ?????? ????? ?? ??? ?? ????? ?? ????????? ?????????, ???? ??? ?? ?????, ???,? ?????? ??, ??? ??? ???? ??? ???????? ???? ??? ????????????? ?????? ???? ????? ????????? ??????? ???? ? ???????? ???????????

 Verbatim: Dr. Suranjita Paul

Translation:

Earlier, my father used to play the tabla. In 1935, he became the disciple of Ustad Abid Hussain Khan sahib.

-Did that happen in this house?

– No, we used to live in our original house in Potuatolla at that time. The first person to tie the nara with Ustad Abid Hussain Khan was Hirubabu – Hirendranath Gangopadhyay. His father was a great fan of the tabla. Manmath nath Ganguly was his name. He used to work at the High Court.

– Your father is Pandit Montu Banerjee.

– Yes. We were all very close to Hiru babu’s family. Father was quite small then. Hiru babu said to my father that since he is such a fan of the tabla, he should become a disciple of his ustad. In those days, masters would not take on more than thirty to forty students. The masters would teach tabla or any other instrument or singing only to those who would become their gandabandh disciples. So my father learn from Ustad Abid Hussain Khan for two to two-and-a-half years. Then, Ustad Abid Hussain Khan passed away. Our family was close to Mr. Raichand Baral. He was a friend of one of my uncles. He said, “Ustad Masid Khan sahib is currently staying at my house. Why don’t you train under him.” So, he learn from Ustad Masid Khan. Then, my father ran into Munneshwar Dayalji. Father found him to be a great man. He was attained enlightenment in the world of music. He had a fantastic memory, and a singing style to match. He said to my father, “No one plays the classical harmonium. You should do it”. That was the time father left the tabla and took up the harmonium. The first time he played  the harmonium was at the conference at Allahabad in 1937.

Translated by Sarbajaya Bhattacharya

 Picture Courtesy:

Kamalaksha Mukhopadhyay,  Harmonium player, AIR

 

Edited & Designed: Dr. Suranjita Paul

Data processed at SAP-DRS Lab, Department of Instrumental Music, RabindraBharati University