The Sarod of Amjad Ali khan, Ganga was made by my father in 1969.
Sri Hemendra Chandra Sen
My father, Sri Hemendra Chandra Sen passed away in 2010 and we were doing his last rites on 14th January suddenly Amjad sahaab’s secretary called. He informed us that his Sarod was broken by an air flight from Ahmedabad to Bombay and we had to fix it. So we asked him to send it to us. He had a performance in Dover Lane Music Conference on 25th January. So we had a tight time frame. We got it the next day and fixed it within a week. When I delivered it to him he hugged it tightly, he loved his instrument so much. He played it in Dover lane and remembered my father and praised us lovingly. Afterwards this same Sarod got missing in British Airways and found again. He loves it so much that he plays it in every programme till today, never let it go.
Radhika Mohan Maitra’s Sarod was made of Teak Wood, which would have six ears with eleven Taraf and two Chikari. The Sarod would have a total of nineteen strings. Radhika Mohan used to customize his instruments in a way, where he asked to change it a bit. He used to add a string to the Pancham of Khad( Kharaj) and take one off the Jowari, so that there were five main strings in total. There were thus one Jowari Sa string, two Chikari, and thirteen Tarafs. This was their speciality. At the head of the instrument, he would also place a Tumba.
– Do you remember the year when you made the Sarod for Radhika Mohan Maitra?
– In the very beginning, it was father who used to do all the making, and I have no idea about that. I have only heard from my father about it.
– What was the diameter of the drum of these Sarods?
– The diameter was of eleven inches, along with the nineteen inch plate. Initially the size of the drum was smaller, but later they converted it into the eleven inch drums.
– Did you make Sarod for any student of Radhika Mohan Mitra?
– Yes. Buddhadeb Dasgupta, Naren Dhar, Joydeep Ghosh are some of the names I remember now. Father used to work on the instruments and we used to help him. After my father’s demise, I have also worked for these people.
– Is there any difference in the making of the Sarod of these people and the other Sarod players?
Ustad Hafiz Ali Khan
– Radhika Mohan Maitra’s Sarod and Ustad Hafiz Ali Khan belonged to almost the same type of made. Only difference was that there were eleven Tarafs in Ustad Hafiz Ali Khan’s Sarod , while there were six ears and two chikari in Radhika Mohan Maitra’s Sarod. Otherwise, all Sarod were made of Teak wood. The speciality about Teak wood is that the tonal quality of Sarod made from this wood has a sharp and sweet tune. The Sarod from the Maihar Gharana are made of Tun Wood, and these Sarod would bring out a sweet tune and bold tune, and also the treble was more in this type of Sarod.
Kolkata residence of Dr. Rajib Chakraborty, Swinhoe Street, Kolkata 700019
About Dr. Rajeeb Chakraborty
Dr. Rajeeb Chakraborty is a renowned Sarod player, a music composer, and also involved in a large number of experimental projects internationally. He received several awards for his experimental work in music.
Kolkata residence of Dr. Rajib Chakraborty, Swinhoe Street, Kolkata 700019
About Dr. Rajeeb Chakraborty
Dr. Rajeeb Chakraborty is a renowned Sarod player, a music composer, and also involved in a large number of experimental projects internationally. He received several awards for his experimental work in music.
Tags
1985, Solo Progremme, Kumar Bose, Promotional Concert, Kamal Ghosh, MegaPhone Company, LP Record, Recording, Practice
Language
Bengali
Dr. Rajeeb Chakraborty speaks :
Metadata is generated by Suranjita Paul
Data processed at SAP-DRS Lab, Department of Instrumental Music, Rabindra Bharati University.
