Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty (born 25 December 1952) is a Hindustani classical

vocalist Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

, composer, lyricist and an exponent of the Patiala-Kasur gharana. He was awarded with the

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan (IAST: ''Padma Bhūṣaṇa'', lit. 'Lotus Decoration') is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 Januar ...

, the third highest civilian award in India in 2020 and the

Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...

, the fourth highest civilian award in India in 2011.

Early life

Ajoy Chakrabarty was born in Kolkata,

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

. He was raised with his brother in Shyamnagar. His younger brother, Sanjay Chakrabarty, is a lyricist and composer. He graduated top of his class in music, both in B.A and M.A. from the Rabindra Bharati University in Kolkata and joined the

ITC Sangeet Research Academy ITC Sangeet Research Academy is a Hindustani classical music academy run by the corporate house, ITC Ltd. It is located in Kolkata, India. Noted musicians associated with the academy include Ulhas Kashalkar, Falguni Mitra, Ajoy Chakrabarty, ...

in 1978 as its first scholar. Today he is one of the youngest gurus of this academy. His father, Ajit Chakrabarty, was his first Guru. He then studied with Pannalal Samanta, Kanaidas Bairagi and Jnan Prakash Ghosh. Besides that, he had learnt from Latafat Hussain Khan, Nibruttibua Sarnaik, Hirabai Barodekar and in Carnatic styles from M. Balamuralikrishna, that kept enriching his musical expression and repertoire. Despite having such pure classical "taleem" in the

Khyal Khyal or Khayal (ख़याल / خیال) is a major form of Hindustani classical music in the Indian subcontinent. Its name comes from a Persian language, Persian/Arabic language, Arabic word meaning "imagination". Khyal is associated with rom ...

genre, he also renders lighter forms such as Thumri,

Tappa Tappa is a form of Indian semi-classical vocal music. Its specialty is a rolling pace based on fast, subtle and knotty construction. Its tunes are melodious and sweet, and depict the emotional outbursts of a lover. Tappe (plural) were sung mostly ...

Bhajan Bhajan is an Indian term for any devotional song with a religious theme or spiritual ideas, specifically among Dharmic religions, in any language. The term bhajanam (Sanskrit: भजनम्) means ''reverence'' and originates from the root w ...

Kirtan Sikh ''kirta''n with Indian harmoniums and '' Kenya.html" ;"title="tabla'' drums (a common and popular pairing), in Kenya">tabla'' drums (a common and popular pairing), in Kenya (1960s) ''Kirtana'' (; ), also rendered as ''Kiirtan'', ''Kirt ...

, Folk, Film/Non-Film and modern songs, in several different languages. He has received several prestigious awards including the

(2011), Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (Delhi, 1999–2000), Kumar Gandharva National Award (1993) and the Best Male Playback Singer Award (Bengali Film "Chhandaneer" 1990) ("For bringing the rare depth of emotion, adorned by his command on the classical idiom") and National Tansen Samman 2015 - by the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh. He has also received felicitations from both the former and present Chief Ministers of his own State,

. In 2012, Chief Minister of West Bengal,

Mamata Banerjee Mamata Banerjee (; born 5 January 1955) is an Indian politician who is serving as the eighth and current List of chief ministers of West Bengal, chief minister of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of West Bengal since 2 ...

conferred him the Maha Sangeet Samman and the Banga Bibhushan, two of the State's highest awards. In 2015 he has received Guru Jnan Prakash Ghosh Lifetime Achievement Award. He also was awarded honorary citizenship in New Orleans, after performing with jazz musicians at Preservation Hall, the birthplace of jazz music. He had received his honorary doctorate degree in the presence of Hon’ble Prime Minister

Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician who has served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India since 2014. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Par ...

and other dignitaries from IIT Kanpur. He was honored for his exemplary contributions in his respective field.

Singing career

He has been invited to perform in

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

and by BBC for their Golden Jubilee Celebration of India's Independence. He has performed in some of the most prestigious venues around the world such as

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

, The Kennedy Center, New Orleans Jazz Preservation Hall in the US, the

Royal Albert hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...

and Queen Elizabeth Hall in the UK and Theatre de la Ville in France. In addition to that, Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty performed at the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto, Canada in 2018 for the Raag-Mala Music Society of Toronto. Inspired by the ideals of his Guru Jnan Prakash Ghosh, Chakrabarty founded Shrutinandan, a school of music.

Personal life

Ajoy Chakrabarty is married to Chandana Chakrabarty. His daughter, Kaushiki Chakraborty, is also a vocalist of

Hindustani classical music Hindustani classical music is the Indian classical music, classical music of the Indian subcontinent's northern regions. It may also be called North Indian classical music or ''Uttar Bhartiya shastriya sangeet''. The term ''shastriya sangeet'' ...

. Their son, Ananjan Chakraborty, is a sound engineer.

Films

Awards

* National Award – 1989 *Kumar Gandharva Award – 1993 *

Sangeet Natak Akademi award Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (IAST: Saṅgīta Nāṭaka Akādamī Puraskāra), also known as the Akademi Puraskar, is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy of Music, Dance & Drama. It is the highest Indian recogni ...

– 2000 * Padmashree – 2011 * Banga Bibhushan – 2012 * Alva's Virasat Award – 2012 *Tansen Samman - 2015 *Pandit Omkarnath Thakur Shastriya Sangeet Award - 2014 - 2015 *

2020

References

External links

Ajoy Chakrabarty Official WebsiteAjoy Chakrabarty Biography and discussion forum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chakrabarty, Ajoy 1952 births Hindustani singers Living people Rabindra Bharati University alumni Thumri Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts 20th-century Indian singers Singers from West Bengal Indian male playback singers 21st-century Indian singers Best Male Playback Singer National Film Award winners Indian classical musicians of Bengal Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in arts Bengali Hindus 20th-century Khyal singers 20th-century Indian male singers 21st-century Indian male singers Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Tamil playback singers