Pt. Santosh Banerjee’s Residence , Kali Temple Road, Kolkata
About the speaker
Renowned Sitar Player, Formerly attached to the Department of Instrumental Music, Rabindra Bharati University as a faculty member. One of the prime disciples of Ustad Dabir Khan.
Tags
Green Room, Riyaz, Vilayat Khan, Binkar, Volunteer, Tansen Music Conference, Ravi Shankar, 1954, 1955, Bharati Hall
Pt. Santosh Banerjee’s Residence , Kali Temple Road, Kolkata.
About the speaker
Renowned Sitar Player, Formerly attached to the Department of Instrumental Music, Rabindra Bharati University as a faculty member. One of the prime disciples of Ustad Dabir Khan.
Tags
Vocal, Kashinath Chattopadhyay, Raag, Rampur Sahaswan Gharana, Tarapada Chakrabarty, Chinmoy Lahiri, Chanu Ganguly, Taan, 1951, Alam Bajar
Santosh Banerjee’s Residence , Kali Temple Road, Kolkata
About the speaker
Renowned Sitar Player, Formerly attached to the Department of Instrumental Music, Rabindra Bharati University as a faculty member. One of the prime disciples of Ustad Dabir Khan.
Tags
Lakkhan Bhattacharya, Sitar, Harish Park, Bhawanipore Police Station, Kalighat, Firoz Khan, Mukherjee Para Lane, Tuning, Gat, Tabla, Sam, Vilambit, Avartan, 1948
Lakshan Bhattacharyay was a renowned Sitarist of that time, and produced many good students. None of them, however, made their mark later on. Lakshan Bhattacharya was addicted to a number of substances like Opium. Some common acquaintances often played host to him and kept him as a guest in their homes. But that could not draw him away from the addiction. Later he was known to have resorted to venom abuse from snakes. After that, he would not wake up for a week. A man like this, however, was outstanding while playing his instrument.
Once he was lying in Harish Park after having consumed some substance, and the police had taken him away as a drunkard to Bhowanipore Police Station. The Officer in Charge came and asked, “What is the matter?” And was told that he had been picked up as an inebriated person. But the OC recognised him and spoke to him in familiar terms, addressing him as ‘Lakshan-da’. “ Whom have you picked up?” he said, and took him home in a car. Many a time I have seen him lying on the side of the road, when he was staying nearby. He stayed near Kalighat, Kali Lane or thereabouts, at someone’s house or at his sister’s place. He died there too. This I know, but he was also an erudite man, and a great Sitarist.
I’ll tell you about one incident that happened at the house of one of his students. Lakshan-da was to play, and accompanied on the table by Firoze Khan. We, being young people, 20 or 21 years of age, had assembled there. This was at a small house on Mukherjee para lane in Kalighat in 1947 or 1948.Anyway, it used to take about an hour for Lakshan-da to tune his instrument. As he used to do, hetwiddled a matchbox, smoked a Beedi with a Mirzab on his finger, till the tuning was complete.All the while Firoze Kahn waited, rubbing his hands on ice, looking at his tabla. LakshanBhattacharyay started a Gat in Vilambit, with his head down, sitting upright, holding his sitar, not even looking Firoze Kahn in the face. One Avartan passed, two Avartans, then three and four, the Tabla was silent. After sometime, Khan Saheb found an opening and started to accompany. As he did so, Lakshanbabu put aside his sitar and embraced him, “Oh Ustad, you’ve found it at last!” Then he played for another three hours. I came home at three or four in the morning, and was rebuked for it, that I would come to nothing in life. This is the incident I remember, cannot remember what he had played though.
Pt. Santosh Banerjee’s Residence , Kali Temple Road, Kolkata
About the speaker
Renowned Sitar Player, Formerly a Member of Faculty at the Department of Instrumental Music, Rabindra Bharati University. One of the prime disciples of Ustad Dabir Khan.
Tags
Manmotho Ghosh, 1935,1934, All Bengal Music Conference, Pathuriaghta, Lala Babu, Damodar Ds Khanna, All India Music Conference, Paradise Hall, Orient Hall, Kesar Bai Kerkar, Vilayat Khan, Kashinath Chattopadhyay, Tarapada Chakraborty, Tansen Sangeet Sangha, 1950,1948, Ravi Shankar, Aparesh Chattopadhyay, Lakkhan Bhattacharya, Lakshman, Tansen School, Dabir Khan, Keramatullah Khan, Masit Khan, Indra Roy Road, Volunteer, Sitar, Bol Bani, 1955
Language
Bengali
Pt. Santosh Banerjee Speaks :
Text version:
Manmantah Nath Ghosh’s Baithak-khana at Pathuriaghata
The proponent of the music scene in Kolkata was Manmatha Ghosh of Pathuriaghata. The Ghosh family of Pathuriaghata hosted the All Bengal Music Conference. That was in 1934-35. Anyway, the maestros used to come, there used to be programmes, and all of this took place in his house.
At the house in Pathuriaghata?
Yes. Then, those who lived nearby – Lala babu, Damodar Das Khanna… he started the All India Music Conference. This used to be held at the Orient Cinema and Paradise Cinema. We went there a few times. We were very young then. There also I have seen that the stalwarts used to come to perform.
kesarbai kerkar
Kesri Bai Kerkar used to perform. Bilayet Khan was a regular. Then there would be singers form Bangladesh, from Kolkata (those I’ve heard), her father, my wife’s father – Sangeetacharya Kahsinath Chattopadhyay – he would sing. Tarapada Chakraborti would also perform. Programmes were of very high quality.
These were the early conferences. Then came the Tansen Sangeet Sangha organised by Shailen babu.
When did this start?
This began in the 50s. ’48, ’49. Because I had obtained first place in the Tansen Sangeet Sangha’s music competition, I was given a spot in the conference. That is how I got to know them. Ravishankar ji had praised my performance. At that time, I was training under Aparesh Chattopadhyay. I used to play the sitar. Then, after a while, I felt like something was wrong. Then I went to the Tansen school. I saw that Dabir Khan was teaching there. In another room was Keramat Khan sahib, or sometimes his father Masit Khan sahib.
Where was this?
At Tansen – Shailen babu’s house on Indra Ray Road. 5 C Indra Ray Road. I frequently visited that address. We were in no position to buy tickets for the conferences. So, I used to be a volunteer. For four five days, I could sit inside the auditorium and here the musicians perform. That was our task. To sit and listen to good music. One has to hear good music to be a good artiste. Anyway, irrespective of which instrument you played or whether you were a singer, you would have to sit and listen to all kinds of music. I used to get scolded at home. But I had to go and listen to the music. At that time, I used to see him give sitar lessons. It wasn’t how we were taught. I took his permission and enrolled in his classes. Then I trained under him for twenty years.
Pt. Santosh Banerjee’s Residence , Kali Temple Road, Kolkata
About the speaker
Renowned Sitar Player, Formerly a Member of Faculty at the Department of Instrumental Music, Rabindra Bharati University. One of the prime disciples of Ustad Dabir Khan.
It happened like this, my student the Raja of Panchkot expressed his interest to listen to Begum Akhtar. Her songs were always being played. This Raja was named Bhubneswari Prasad Singdeo. They had their estate at the village of Kashipur, Panchkot near Agra where their palaces still stand. Anyway, I said I will try and asked Ustadji.
Palace of Panchkote
Ustadji took me to Broadway Hotel where Begum Akhter was staying for a performance. She gladly consented to go and asked about the time. She asked us to send a car at ten p.m. She arrived punctually at the raja’s residence at 2/1 Loudon Street and performed about fifteen of her songs. The only audience consisted of myself, the Raja, Ustadji and a couple of other people. It was a wonderful performance and this was how I got acquainted with Begum Akhtar. She used to take a very costly and aromatic jarda which was heard to come by. I used to consume betel leaf a lot and also used this jarda in a very small amount. The time frame is around 1964 or 67-68.
Pt. Santosh Banerjee’s Residence , Kali Temple Road, Kolkata
About the speaker
Renowned Sitar Player, Formerly a Member of Faculty at the Department of Instrumental Music, Rabindra Bharati University. One of the prime disciples of Ustad Dabir Khan.
Pt. Santosh Banerjee’s Residence , Kali Temple Road, Kolkata
About the speaker
Renowned Sitar Player, Formerly a Member of Faculty at the Department of Instrumental Music, Rabindra Bharati University. One of the prime disciples of Ustad Dabir Khan.
Tags
Dabir Khan, Rampur Sahaswan Gharana, Wazir Khan, Allauddin Khan, Mustaque Hussain Khan, Rampur, Kolkata, 1935, Kesto Babu, Krisna Chandra Dey, Jorasnako Rajbari, Bardhwan Rajbari, Sagir Khan, Rippon Street
60/2/7 Kabi Bharati Sarani, Lake Road. Kolkata- 700029
About the speaker
Swapna Mukherji is a well-known Sitar Player. She is the daughter as well as a disciple of Sri Amiya Bhushan Chattopadhyay [disciple of Pt. Lakshman Bhattacharya]. She was a graded Staff artist of All India Radio, served both in Raipur and Calcutta Station of All India Radio.
My father, Amiyabhushan Chattopadhyay, was one of Lakshmanda’s, that is, Lakshman Bhattacharya’s favourite students. I remember the names of a few others because they used to visit my father. For instance, there was Sukumar Basu. There was someone called Aparesh Chattrjee – I had only heard of him, never seen him. There was someone called Badal Das who could play the sitar and the sarod. He was born in 1921 and passed away in 2012.
Shri Lakshman Bhattacharya
Lakshman da was an incredible artist. He was very moody and somewhat apathetic towards worldly interests. He was dead against self-publicity and avoided it at all costs. He had a tendency of disappearing, so his students would take turns to make sure that he stayed put.
In those days, programmes on the radio used to be broadcast live. My father used to keep an eye on him. Our house was very close to the Akashbani Bhavan. My father would bring him to our house and make him stay there. He would get angry and say, “Why are you following me like this? Don’t keep me under surveillance!” Father would change the subject and say, “We are so fortunate to ahve found a guru like you. The more time we can spend with you, the better it is for us.” And he would make him perform for the radio.
It had happened a few times that Lakkhan da had a programme, but he was nowhere to be found. This happened a few times during the Chetla conference. These are all stories I’ve heard from father. They’d find him at the crematorium. He used to go and sit there. He seemed indifferent about the world. Maybe he liked it att he creamatorium, that’s why he sat there. He was extremely genial and pleasant. He called my grandmother ‘mother’, and referred to my mother as ‘bouma’ or daughter-in-law. He had a tender disposition. I’ve never heard from father anything about his rage. He was like this, but he was also very, very moody. The students would take turns to keep an eye on him.
Anyway, such measures did not prove preventive in the end. He passed away when he was just 39. He was unmarried. He was at his brother’s house in Shyambazar. I don’t know the exact address. He passed away in that house. His nephew came to our house, dressed in mourning. My father was the first person he informed. Father was shocked when he saw him and asked, “What has happened?” Then he said, “Uncle passed away. He had fever for a couple of days!” He paased away at a very young age. I wonder what would have happened had he lived. He had attained such fame at such an young age that even now his name is heard in certain corners. For instance, you have come to ask me about him!
Translated by: Sarbajaya Bhattacharya
Picture Courtesy:
Smt. Swapna Mukherji, Renowned Sitarist and graded Staff artist of AIR
Note: Shri Amiya Bhushan Chattopadhyay is the father of Smt. Swapna Mukherji – Editor
Edited & Designed: Dr. Suranjita Paul
Data processed at SAP-DRS Lab, Department of Instrumental Music, Rabindra Bharati University
60/2/7 Kabi Bharati Sarani, Lake Road. Kolkata- 700029
About the speaker
Swapna Mukherji is a well-known Sitar Player. She is the daughter as well as a disciple of Sri Amiya Bhushan Chattopadhyay [disciple of Pt. Lakshman Bhattacharya]. She was a graded Staff artist of All India Radio, served both in Raipur and Calcutta Station of All India Radio.
60/2/7 Kabi Bharati Sarani, Lake Road. Kolkata- 700029
About the speaker
Swapna Mukherji is a well-known Sitar Player. She is the daughter as well as a disciple of Sri Amiya Bhushan Chattopadhyay [disciple of Pt. Lakshman Bhattacharya]. She was a graded Staff artist of All India Radio, served both in Raipur and Calcutta Station of All India Radio.
Tags
Lakshman Bhattacharya, moody, Amjad Ali Khan, Hafiz Ali Khan, Amiya Bhushan Chattopadhyay, Raga, Puriya,
