Told by	Sri Jayanta Chattopadhyay
Obtained by	Rajeswary Ganguly Banerjee
Date	6th December, 2016
Place	S.A.P. Lab, Instrumental Department, Rabindra Bharati University, B.T. Road Campus.
About the speaker	Renowned Vocalist and Musicologist, Son of Legendary Musician Ustad Vishmadev Chattopadhyay.
Tags	Vishmadev Chattopadhyay, Badal Khan, Tappa, Bengali Song, Paschima Gaan, Raag, Malkauns, 1923, Ashotosh Chattopadhyay, Gurudakshina, Performance, Chidam Mudi Lane, Gulu Ostagor Lane
Language	Bengali, Hindi

Sri Jayanta Chattopadhyay speaks :

 

Verbatim:

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

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

Verbatim by: Dr. Suranjita Paul

 Transation:

Badal Khan Saheb started teaching music to father. This was at either the Chhidam Mudi lane or the Gulu Ostagar Lane residence.

Baba had learned Tappa well before this. But the first thing that Badal Khan did was to stop him from singing Bengali songs, saying that singing those cast a regional influence on his singing, which would prevent him in his endeavour to bring about the pan-Indian character in father’s voice. So Bhismadev stopped singing bangla songs, which opened up the North Indian style before him. Even to a talented artist like Bhismadev, Badal Khan taught only Malkauns for six months. He started teaching in 1923, when father was 14 years old. After the lessons had gone on for six months, my grandfather, Ashutosh Chattopadhyay, noticed that the same song was going on for six months, no new ones. And the fees or ‘Gurudakshina’ that was being paid to Badal Khan saheb was quite hefty even by today’s standards. Each day he used to come, he was paid two rupees, which was the price of one mon (about 37 kgs) of rice. And the rickshaw fare was paid separately. You can calculate how much that quantity of rice costs now. This was paid per day. It also happened, though not within those six months, that Badal Khan saheb had come twice a day, because he had suddenly remembered a song that he had to teach.  Anyway, every day he came, Ashutosh Chattopadhyay, who had never taken lessons in music himself, thought that the same song was being taught for six months. Just as Badal Khan saheb had finished his lessons and gone out of the room, than Ashutosh Chattopadhyay said to Bhismadev, “ Will he not give you any other song? The same malkauns has been going on.” Badal Khan saheb had not actually left, as he took some time to put on his shoes due to old age. He came back in and said, “ Ashubabu, Malkauns is such a Raag that let alone six months, even six life spans are not enough to learn it. I am preparing the base now; you’ll see the results after the preparation is complete.” Later, it was often the case that he taught one raag in the morning and another in the evening. And, thanks to Bhismadev’s musical talent, he picked it up with ease. Not everyone he tried to teach thus could do so. He was so talented that often the raag he learned in the morning, he performed at a musical function in the evening. And I am not talking about the song, but the Raag itself.

Translated by: Arundhati Banerjee

Picture Courtesy: Google

http://www.vibotunes.com/gallery.php?cPath=1&page=24

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuFTMFwfW1E

Edited & Designed: Dr. Suranjita Paul

Data processed at SAP-DRS Lab, Department of Instrumental Music, Rabindra Bharati University.