Purbayan Chatterjee (born 12 September 1976) is an Indian

sitar The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form in 19th-century India. Khusrau K ...

maestro who lives in

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

, India. He is noted for amalgamating traditional

Indian classical music Indian classical music is the art music, classical music of the Indian subcontinent. It is generally described using terms like ''Shastriya Sangeet'' and ''Marg Sangeet''. It has two major traditions: the North Indian classical music known as ...

with contemporary world music genres.

Early life and career

Purbayan Chatterjee learnt Sitar from his father Parthapratim Chatterjee. Purbayan’s music is inspired by the sound of Pt. Nikhil Banerjee. He has performed as a solo artist and as a part of the groups Shastriya Syndicate and Stringstruck. He is also a vocalist and has performed in duet with

Shankar Mahadevan Shankar Mahadevan (born 3 March 1967) is an Indian singer and composer who is part of the Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy trio that writes music for Indian films. In 2023, he was awarded an honorary doctorate (''honoris causa'' degree) by Birmingham Ci ...

(Dwo - from the album Stringstruck). He has worked with Shastriya Syndicate – the first Indian Classical Band – Indian Classical band with a contemporary touch, which has performed at the Roskilde Festival, Denmark,

OzAsia Festival OzAsia Festival, or simply OzAsia, is a major arts festival in Adelaide, South Australia. It is an Asia-focused festival presented by the Adelaide Festival Centre for two weeks in late October to early November each year. Founded in 2007, the f ...

, Australia, Traumzeit Festival, Germany etc. The album "Lehar" released by Times Music in 2008 has remained a best-seller for a year and a half.

has performed the title song "Dwo" in Purbayan’s super-hit fusion album, "Stringstruck" released by Times Music. The number has also been compiled in the album "Aman ki Asha", an Indo-Pak peace project released by Times Music and has also received the Palm IRAA Award for the Best World Music Album of the Year. He designed the "Dwo" which is a Doppelganger of the Indian Sitar. He has performed several times with

tabla A ''tabla'' is a pair of hand drums from the Indian subcontinent. Since the 18th century, it has been the principal percussion instrument in Hindustani classical music, where it may be played solo, as an accompaniment with other instruments a ...

maestro

Ustad Zakir Hussain Zakir Hussain Allarakha Qureshi (9March 195115December 2024) was an Indian tabla player, composer, arranger, percussionist, music producer and film actor. The eldest son of esteemed tabla player Alla Rakha, Hussain was widely regarded as the g ...

. In 2013, Chatterjee composed an anthem, ''Tomake Chai Bole Banchi'' (I live as I yearn for you), for the city of Kolkata, with Hindi and Bengali lyrics by

Srijato Srijato Bandyopadhyay is an Indian poet of the Bengali language. He won the Ananda Puroskar in 2004 for his book ''Udanta Sawb Joker: All Those Flying Jokers''. In 2014, he won the Filmfare Awards East 2014, Filmfare Awards East for Best Lyrici ...

and English lyrics by

Bickram Ghosh Bickram Ghosh is an Indian classical tabla player. Early life Ghosh started learning tabla from his father, Pandit Shankar Ghosh. Career Ghosh has performed with Ali Akbar Khan and Pandit Ravi Shankar. Ghosh's band, Rhythmscape, which perf ...

, in an effort to make Kolkata the first city with an official anthem of its own.

Awards

* Chatterjee was a recipient of the

Rashtrapati Award Rashtrapati Awards used to be given by the President of India, in some cases the Prime Minister of India, for achievements in the field of sports, art, military, literature, cinema, culture, science and technology, or Scouting. The award-giving ...

for being the Best Instrumentalist of the country at the age of 15. * He has also received the

Aditya Vikram Birla Award Aditya may refer to: * Ādityas, a group of Hindu deities * An alternative name for Surya, the Sun in later Hinduism * Aditya (name) ** Aditya (actor) (born 1978), Indian film producer and actor * ''Aditya'' (boat), solar-powered ferry * Aditya ( ...

for excellence and contributions to the field. * He has also been honoured with the Rasoi Award by

Rotary International Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. The self-declared mission of Rotary, as stated on its website, is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and p ...

in 1995.

Discography

*''Horizon'' - by Peshkar Music Germany *''Nirman'' - By Sense World Music UK *''Samwad'' - By Sense World Music UK (duet with violinist Kala Ramnath) - Songlines World Music Magazine Top Of The World (Top ten) *''Rasayana'' - By Sense World Music UK (duet with flutist Shashank) - Songlines Top Of The World *''Aavishkar'' - By Sense World Music UK (duet with violinist Kala Ramnath) - Songlines Top Of The World *''Taalash'' - By Sense World Music UK *''Rising Stars Magical Fingers'' - by HMV *''Singing Sitar'' - by Virgin Records India *''Lehar'' - Times Music (Purbayan's group Shastriya syndicate - The First Indian Classical Band ) Top of the charts for 6 months (Planet M charts and rhythm house charts) *''Purbayan'' - Times Music with Pt Anindo Chatterjee tabla *''Stringstruck'' - Times Music - Awarded Best World Music Album at Iraa Palm Expo 2009 - featuring Shankar Mahadevan, Taufiq Qureshi, Rakesh Chaurasia, Atul Raninga *''Sitarscape'' - EMI Virgin *''Hemisphere'' - Times Music The album ''Lehar'' released by Times Music in 2008 has remained the bestseller for a year and a half. Shankar Mahadevan has performed the title song ''Dwo'' in Chatterjee's fusion album ''Stringstruck'', released by Times Music. The number has also been compiled in the album ''Aman ki Asha'', an Indo-Pak peace project released by Times Music and has also received the Palm IRAA Award for the Best World Music Album of the Year.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chatterjee, Purbayan Indian sitar players 1976 births Living people Musicians from Kolkata Virgin Records artists EMI Classics and Virgin Classics artists Indian male musicians Indian world music musicians