| Told by | Pt. Santosh Banerjee |
| Obtained by | Rajeswary Ganguly Banerjee |
| Date | 5th April, 2017 |
| Place | 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:
????? ????,??? ??????? ????????? ????? ????????? ???? ???? ????? ???, ?????????? ????? ?????? ??? ?? ?????? ?????? ????????? ?????? ???? ????? ???? ???? ???? ???? ???? ?? ??? ??? ??? ?????? ???????? ????? ??? ????????? ??????? ??, ????? ???, ???? ??????? ?? ????
?????????????? ????????
????? , ?????????????? ???????? ?????? ???? ???? ?????, ????????-?????? ??? ??????, ??? ????? ??????, ??? ?????? ?? ???????? ?????? ????????? ????? ?????? ??? ????????? ??????, ?????????? ???????? ?????? ????? ?? ?????? ?????, ??? ?????? ???? ??? ??? ?? ??????? ????? ??????, ??? ???? ???? ???????? ?????, ?????, ????? ??? ????? ?????, ??? ?? ????? ?????? ????? ???????? ??? ????? ?????? ?????? ???????? ???? ?????? ?????? ???? ??? ??? ?????, (??? ??? ??? ??????), ???? ????, ???? ??????? ???? ????? ?????????????? ??????? ?????????????, ???? ??????, ????? ?? ??????, ?????? ????????? ??????, ??? ??????, ?? ???? ???????? ?? ???? ?? ????? ????? ?????????? ???? ???? ?????? ??? ?????? ?????? ???, ????? ???? ??????
??? ???????? ??? ???? ???? ??? ?
??? ???? ?????? ?????? ???, ??, ??, ???? ?????? ?????? ?????? ?????????? ??? ??????? ????? ??????? ??, ?????, ???? ??? ?????????? ????????? ???? ??? ???? ???? ????? ???? ??? ???? ???? ?? ??????? ?? ???? ????? ??, ???? ????? ???? ??? ??????? ????????? ??? ??? ?????, ??? ??? ????? ?????? ????? ????????????? ?? ????? ????? ???????????? ????? ????? ?????????????, ??? ????? ????? ????? ??????? ????? ?? ???? ??? ??? ???? ?????? ??? ???????? ?? ??? ?? ?????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ?? ??? ???? ??? ????? ????? ????? ?????, ????? ???? ??? ?????, ???? ?????? ??? ?????, ???? ?????? ??? ??????? ???? ????? ??? ??????
??? ????? ??? ???????? ?
???????, ????? ????? ??????? ?????????? ?????
?????? ???? ????; ??????
5 C ?????? ???? ???? ?? ??? ????????, ??????? ???????? ????? ??? ?????? ???? ??? ?? ????? ???? ????????? ? ??????? ?? ?????? ???, ???? ??, ??????????? ???? ?????? ??????? ?????, ??? ??? ?????? ????, ?????? ???? ???? ???? ???????? ?????? ???????? ???? ?? ????? ???? ??? ??? ??? ???,????? ??? ?????? ????? ?? ???? ???, ???? ??????, ??? ????, ??????? ?? ??? ???, ?? ??, ??????? ????? ????? ?????? ???? ?? ??? ????? ?????? ???? ?? ??? ?????? ?? ??? ??????? ????? ???????? ????? ??????? ???? ?? ??? ?? ????? ???????, ?????????, ???? ???? ?????? ??? ????? ??? ????? ??, ??? ???? ??? ??? ???? ??? ???? ??????? ????? ????? ????? ???? ?????, ????? ???? ???? ??????? ??? ??? ??? ???? ???? ???????
???? ?????? ???? ???? ??? ?????
???? ??? ?? ?????
Translation:
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.
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.
When did you start?
That would be 1955.
Translated by: Sarbajaya Bhattacharya
Picture Courtesy : Google
Edited & Designed: Ms. Rajeswary Ganguly Banerjee
Data processed at SAP-DRS Lab, Department of Instrumental Music, Rabindra Bharati University.