Pandit Debaprosad dey first started learning from Amiyaranjan Bandopadhyay during the days when he was a student of Rabindra Bharati University. He had taken private tuitions for the five years probably from 1973 to ’78. At that time Sangeetacharya Amiyaranjan Bandopadhyay used to live in a flat opposite to Rangana theatre and Sarkarina hall in North Kolkata. Later he also continued his talim when Amiyababu shifted to another flat in Vivekananda Park. Sangeetacharya Amiyaranjan Bandopadhyay had a very unique method of teaching specially presenting a bandish in 48 matra or time beats that many musicians are lacking of. He could knit any bandish so beautifully in a calculative way that anyone would present it without putting his effort onto it. Actually the beautifully arrangement of words lied beneath the setting of the bandishes would make the movement or chalan of the bandishes smooth in 48 matras so that the mukhra or the initial part of the bandish would come automatically in framed time cycle. It happened both in sthayi and antara of each bandish. We also used to write down those bandishes as the notation form covering whole 48 matras.
Ustad Amir Khan
Amiyababu used to carry out the style of vistar or improvisation of a Raga like Ustad Amir Khan. In spite of being a doyen of Visnupur gharana, he always took long time on elaboration by taking each note of a raga gradually and represented it with proper embellishmentsfollowing the style of Kirana gharana much like Ustad Amir Khan. His father was a renowned Dhrupad singer, Sangeetacharya Satyakinkar Bandopadhyay who is supposed to be the last one to represent the actual form of Visnupur gharana, though his descendants like Amiyaranjan, Niharranjan or even Santanu are much closer to Kirana gharana. Amiyababu had always consciously followed the style of Kirana gharana, that’s why he could beautifully perform tanas in fast laya and even what is more astonishing that in this old age also he is still performing such magnificent tanas with ease.
S.A.P. Lab, Department of Instrumental Music, Rabindra Bharati University, B.T. Road Campus.
About the speaker
Sitar Maestro, Chair Professor, Department of Instrumental Music, Rabindra Bharati University
Tags
Ali Akbar Khan, Sarod, Tuning, Listening, Strumming, Raga, Music, North Indian Classical Music, performance, 1983
Language
English
Pt. Sanjoy Bandopadhyay speaks :
Text version:
I would like to put forward why I see Riyaz very important. To tell you about that, I must refer to one of Ustad Ali Akbar Khan Sahab’s , Ali Akbar Khan Sahab’s TV interview, where he was asked that, “Khan Sahab you are such a great Sarod player, such a great musician, how do you perform so good in music, such a good music and so beautiful music”. He said that ‘when I go to my sarod, it appears alien to me. Then I try to tune that, and if it tunes well then I go to the stage, and seat tight, start strumming, and then everything, if everything goes well, I become the listener. “
Ustad Ali Akbar Khan
So I also believe that, this is the way, we the raga music performers, at least from north India, I would say musicians from India excepting the south, those who are doing raga music, I think this is the final message. This is the best message I have ever heard. But here comes why Riyaz is important, Riyaz makes, gives you a level of virtuosity, and that makes you comfortable you know, whatever comes in your mind that gets expressed through you, without any hindrance, without any difficulties. So and to achieve that level of virtuosity, you are free from any worries, that if some expression comes to your mind, it will get expressed, you require to practice , appropriate practice, I would say intelligent and appropriate practicing. Thank You.
