Residence of Somjit Dasgupta Prof. Sanjoy Bandopadhyay, 3/1/1D, Padmapukur Road, Kolkata 700092
About Somjit Dasgupta
Disciple of Pt. Radhika Mohan Maitra. Preserving rare musical instruments including the instruments belonged to Pt. Radhika Mohan Maitra. He plays different instruments like Sarod, Surshringar, Mohan Veena, etc.
Tags
1940, Brojendra Mohan Maitra, court musician, Md. Amir Khan, Ustd. Enayet Khan, Rajshahi, 15 Sagruddin Lane, Kalabagan, Badal Khan, Birendra Kishore Roy Chaudhury, Park Circus, Raja Bazar, Dhruvatara Joshi, Fayyaz Khan, Garg, Mahishadal Rajbari,
Residence of Prof. Sanjoy Bandopadhyay, 3/1/1D, Padmapukur Road, Kolkata 700092
About Somjit Dasgupta
Disciple of Pt. Radhika Mohan Maitra. Preserving rare musical instruments including the instruments belonged to Pt. Radhika Mohan Maitra. He plays different instruments like Sarod, Surshringar, Mohan Veena, etc.
This is a most hilarious story once told by Sri Brajendra Mohan Moitra, father of Pandit Radhika Mohan Moitra, who was fondly known as ‘Buro Dadu’ or ‘Bhuro Dadu’ for his remarkable tummy. It was a lovely memory shared by a father about his legendary son.
Brajendra Mohan Moitra, Zaminder of Rajshahi estate was a person with strict principles. It was that era when smoking hookah, bidi in tender age was not a very big taboo. But Brajendra Mohan had set strict discipline for his children that made impossible for Radhu Babu to get any bidi or cigarette during his high school days. So he met the tobacco supplier of their estate and ordered him to make a special type of bidi for the students which would be very short in length so that the students could easily enjoy a whole bidi in two to three puffs between the class periods. The tobacco supplier became very confuse and afraid as he could not ignore the order of the elder son of a Zaminder. He asked Radhu Babu what would be the name of that special bidi. Radhika Mohan suggested as the bidi was particularly made for students then it should be named as‘Student quality bidi’. Thus the bidi came into existence and within a few days it became hugely popular among the High school students throughout Rajshahi.
One day Radhu babu was caught red handed by his Head master Gostho babu while smoking in a leisure mood sitting on a branch of a tree. He became enraged after finding his student in that state and ordered him to get down from the tree. Being a very mischievous in nature, Radhu babu told his Head master that he would prefer to get down after smoking as it was inevitable that he would be beaten at any circumstances. In a furious state Gosthobabu went to Brajendra Mohan Moitra to complain against Radhu babu. Hearing about Radhubabu’s deed, Brajendra Mohan Moitra got fumed and called Radhika Mohan for interrogation but as usual he was not found anywhere in the house. Meanwhile Bhagawan babu who used to know his whereabouts, brought him from the bank of the river by pulling his ear and present him in front of his father and head master. But it was Radhu babu’s luck that his Grandmother came in between three angry persons, scold them for their mistreatment towards a young lad and rescue him.
Paraphrased by: Dr. Suranjita Paul
Data processed at SAP-DRS Lab, Department of Instrumental Music, RabindraBharati University
Residence of Prof. Sanjoy Bandopadhyay, 3/1/1D, Padmapukur Road, Kolkata 700092
About Somjit Dasgupta
Disciple of Pt. Radhika Mohan Maitra. Preserving rare musical instruments including the instruments belonged to Pt. Radhika Mohan Maitra. He plays different instruments like Sarod, Surshringar, Mohan Veena, etc.
Tags
Jnanendra Prakash Goswami, Paresh Chandra Bhattacharjee, Fayyaz Khan, Megaphone, Programme Director, 1932-38, Asit Baran, Clerk cum Tabaljee, Abhoy Pada Mallick,
Residence of Somjit Dasgupta Prof. Sanjoy Bandopadhyay, 3/1/1D, Padmapukur Road, Kolkata 700092
About Somjit Dasgupta
Disciple of Pt. Radhika Mohan Maitra. Preserving rare musical instruments including the instruments belonged to Pt. Radhika Mohan Maitra. He plays different instruments like Sarod, Surshringar, Mohan Veena, etc.
Tags
Jnanendra Prasad Goswami, 1934-38, Radhika Mohan Maitra, Suresh Chakraborty, Bhismadev, Vishmadev Chatterjee, Amiya Nath Sanyal, Deba Prasad Garg, Vishnupur, Mallick Bazar Telephone Exchange, Atta Hussein Khan, Fayyaz Khan, Rathin Chattopadhyay,
Kazi Nazrul Islam or that period which is 1935, 1936, 1940 that time. The work period of Jnanendra Prasad Goswami was before the year 1938. Means 1934 -1938 around that time. Also stating the reason that is around 1938 he had developed a feeling that he is not doing good music anymore. And if he wants to improve his music then he has to do it with God. In the manner, just joining hands in front of the people wearing shawl and silk Punjabi is not enough and nothing is happening in his life. This he said to Radha babu and Suresh babu, Suresh Chakraborty, both of them …..
Radha babu means here Radhika Mohan Moitra?
Radhika Mohan Moitra and Suresh Chakraborty ……
Which Suresh Chakraborty is this?
Suresh Chakraborty about whom I am saying, he is not the musicologist Suresh Chakraborty. He was the disciple of Viswadeb Chattopadhyay and Amionath Sanyal , Suresh Chakraborty. He went to these two people at Debiprasad Garg’s house , he did not enter the house – “ See, I don’t like to enter such houses and do music” and he started crying. He said , “ When did I sing in my life? I could not do music”.
After that in 1938 he said, “ I will not return to Kolkata anymore. I am moving to Bishnupur, I will stay there.” And everyone in that temple were members of the royal family of Bishnupur. He said,
“ I will stay there and sing to Radha Madhav .” He did not return anymore.
Where was the house of Debiprasad Garg?
The house of Debiprasad Garg was at the behest of Mallick bazaar. Now, it is the telephone exchange. Ata Hussain Kha was of same age at that time. And Faiyaaz Khan used to stay. Ata Hussain Khan and Radha babu then developed themselves as artists by taking training. At that time Rathin Chattopadhyay were good friends with Ata Hussain and Radha babu. They used to stay there at that time. He used to call Rathin babu his ‘son’ and he used to also call Ataa Hussain ‘son’ .
Who?
Ustad faiyaz Khan
Faiyaaz Khan sahab. His recording, helping voice everything were Rathin Chattopadhyay and Ata Hussain, both. And for tabla he would always say that Aye Bhattacharya played a lot with his name Jnanbabu, Nimai Bhattacharya’s father… so when this was said it was the year 1938. Then he had left and used tocome to Kolkata only once a year, where Bishnupur kings had a monument in Bagbazar, he used to sing in that house. In Gokul Chandra Mitra’s house. He used to sing in that place only on the day of Saraswati Puja and never came to Kolkata for the rest of the year. He died in 1945. And from 1938 – 1944, he used to come to Kolkata once a year during Saraswati Puja. Jnan babu was the director of Gramophone Company during that time.
Bankim Ghosh, 1950’s, partition, East Pakistan, Esraj, tuition, multiple instrument player, 1982, All India Radio, Nikhil Banerjee, wishes, waiting
Language
English
Samir Chatterjee speaks:
Verbatim:
This is about the time when Calcutta was reshaping itself. Independence was in 1947, at the time East Pakistan was created, we know about the consequences of that- across the border area in the east and the west, what happened… Many of the Hindu musicians decided to leave Bangladesh and the nearest area they could think off was Calcutta. So they were all moving to Calcutta. One of such musicians was Pandit Bankim Ghosh. No one ever heard of him. He came from District Barishal and somehow landed in our house. He came into our house before I was born. I was born in 1955 so, I am talking about 52/53 – around that time he came in. As I started growing up, that was my initiation in music…. My mother became his disciple. What was his main instrument that you get to hear very rarely these days – Esraj. His father was a very renowned (musician), we found mention of his father’s name in some of the old books of music history. I did not get any chance to listen his father but I could imagine how his father was through his playing. I was nearly 3/ 4 years old and his routine was he would wake up late in the morning and then would clean himself up, had his tea and then listen to radio and then picked up and tuned a few instruments every now and then; earning his living by private tuition he had to play few other instruments and I was amazed to see he was able to pick up any instrument and played (flawlessly). We hear about Ustad Alauddin Khan Sahab was able to do that. At that time there (were something in the) few other people also less known who had same kind of ability. In front of my own eyes I saw him to play the Flute, Violin, Harmonium, Guitar. As Guitar came in he said,” Yes, I can play it, give me the instrument”. Gyan Babu also something like that, this kind of versatility we could see in him; but his (Pandit Bankim Ghosh) main instrument was still Esraj. And, — after the lunch, late lunch at 1.30 or 2’o clock, then he will take a short nap. And then go out for tuition at 3 or 4 o clock. He will dress up and leave and he would see me, he would like to see me every now and then throughout the course of the day. That was his waiting but my waiting started until he came back home. At that age I would be put to bed at 9 o’ clock and it was quite a struggle for me to pretend being asleep for 2 hours until he came at 11 p.m. My mother knew that I was not sleeping from the blinking of my eyes. She was sometimes come and scrolled me (saying that),” Now I am going to hit you , you have to go to school and still you are not sleeping”. She knew the reason. I would wait for him to come back home and knock on the door. Usually his wife opened the door….in the quiteness of the night , I could hear every sound and knew what he was doing . He would rinse his mouth with water and he would ask for the meal then lit up the bidi and he would pick up the Esraj.
I was just waiting for the first note, which inevitably put goose-bumps. Then for half an hour or 45 minutes or 1hour…all the duration he was practicing I would be in tears.
Later on, when I was teaching at Yale University one of my students, when I asked them to write article on their experience of music. One of my students wrote that……she started the first paragraph like this — the first sentence was this …..”no one ever cries in our family … we had deaths ..we had accidents ..we had tragedies….but we have never seen anyone cries in our family. Only the time I saw my father crying was when he listens music. So this is how…this is what … this is whom I owe my musical sensibility. “
If my music can ever…..you know I play Tabla… and I always had this question that; will I be limited in scope? In 1982 that was actually what put me restless and I picked up several locations to quit my job at All India Radio because in my book ‘ Music of India ‘ – in the front of the book I confessed that until my late youth I thought that music is divine, musicians are not. I didn’t have examples in front of mine or around me….to encourage me to really take music as a profession.
Pt Nikjil Bnaerjee
So in 1982 when I was touring with Pandit Nikhil Banerjee I gave it a second thought that, if this man can be in music, may be, I can give it a shot. I did not know him well enough yet, but I smelt something …. I see something there which I had not seen much around me. I won’t say that there were not any other person at all, there might have a been a few, but not enough to convince me to engage, to dedicate my entire life…. It’s my life, Sanjoy, I am talking about. And I had a clear vision of my life that how I want it to spent the years on this planet. So he gave me that impetus, that encouragement that and convinced me that I could give it a shot. In one of those 3 months I asked him directly this question, “Dada, you have your Sitar, and it seems to me that you can practically express any of your emotions through the Sitar. What am I going to do with the dead skins “. He was, he barely spoke, — he put some Pan-Parag into his mouth….and then just go quite….then one/two days had gone…..he knew that I’m not going to give up, I would bring up the question again and he was thinking….clearly thinking……3 days later when I asked him again during the lunch break …. just briefly said-” If you wish”.
Sanjoy Bandopadhyay: wow!
Samir Chatterjee: There are 2 things we are not ready to do with sincerity- wishing and waiting. When you wish something be careful because if you wish anybody or something continuously…… you may get answered….and imagine this was happened in 1982…..in 1996 when my son was putting up my website, he needed my bio data and I gave him it and he said,” give me your press comments”, so all the press comments I had saved I put it together with bullet points….. some of those were in Bengali , in Hindi or in English . Then once I organize them what comes out…..I read through it….I became alert of something……and then I realize that all of the reviews I had received so far were talking about the melodious aspect…… musical aspect of my Tabla.
Sanjoy Bandopadhyay: So you got that…
Samir Chatterjee: I was amazed! Not just convinced but I was amazed. I was not even aware….it was happening. So this is how things shape up naturally and that’s what I would say you not as an advice just a humble recommendation to all musicians of our next generation that keep you intend straight and honest.
I heard this incident from Mallar Ghosh, my Gurubhai, the son of my Guruji Pt. Jnanprakash Ghosh. Last year, Mallar and I had gone to take an examination in Santiniketan. We were to return together by train, but the train was late, so we were in the waiting room, that is when he narrated this incident. We were talking about Guruji. That is when he narrated the story. He said that Guruji’s father did not want his son to take up music as a profession. It was against his father’s wishes that Guruji entered the world of music as a professional. According to Mallar Ghosh, all his uncles, that is, all of his father’s elder brothers were lawyers. Guruji’s elder brother used to call Guruji Genu. When Guruji received the Deshikottam from Santiniketan, when they received the news, Guruji’s brother hugged Guruji and said, “Genu, our father never wanted you to be a part of the world of music. He wanted you to take up law as a profession. But now that you have received this award, this world-wide recognition, it pleases me to think that no matter where father is today, he will be extremely happy that this honour has been bestowed upon you. You could not have received such an honour in any other profession. This is a great reward. You have received this honour today because you were determined to stay in this profession. This is not just a matter of pride for you, but for the entire family. Thank you.”
