Raag Rang Annual Concert 2023 Brochure

Welcome to our 2023 Annual Concert as we celebrate Padma Bhushan Pt. V.G. Jog'a 101th birthday.  We are pleased to bring to you some of the most accomplished musicians. Provided below are the bios of all the musicians performing at the concert.

Raag Rang is proud to present The Pandit V. G. Jog award 2023 to Pandit Samar Saha for his contribution to the field of music.

Born and raised in Kolkata, Samar Saha showed great promise at a very young age. Samar’s initial training started at a very tender age under the guidance of his father Sri Sudhansu Bhusan Saha and brother Sri Tarak Saha, who was himself a Tabla player of repute. His formal training started under the tutelage of Sri Satchidananda Goswami and then flowered under the able guidance of Sri Krishna Kumar Ganguly (Natubabu) of Banaras Gharana. A highly sought-after Tabla accompanist, Samar has had the privilege of accompanying almost all the top ranking artists of Hindustani vocal and instrumental music. Frequently featured on All India Radio (AIR) and Doordarshan, Samar has participated in all prestigious music conferences in India. Samar has performed on the Tabla in several foreign countries as well, like Germany, USA and UK, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Pakistan etc. 

One of the finest Sitar virtuosi amongst the present generation, and a worthy torchbearer of the famed Sarod Gharana of Senia Shahjahanpur, Sugato Nag

started his training at the age of eight under the guidance of Late Shri Anil Roychowdhury. Sugato next became the disciple of sarod maestro, Sangeetacharya

Radhika Mohan Maitra. He next took extensive training and guidance under renowned sarodiya, Late Padmabhushan Pt. Buddhadev Dasgupta. He has also taken talim from Pt. Ajoy Sinha Roy of the Maihar Gharana. Sugato’s repertoire includes presentation of unique bandishes (compositions) composed from Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore’s songs by his guru Pt Buddhadev Dasgupta as well as his own through singing and playing.

Apart from performing all over India, Sugato has toured extensively in the US, Canada, Germany, France, UK, Holland, Australia, Japan, Mexico and Singapore, playing in University circuits as well as in Music Conferences and holding the audience in sway with his scintillating and exquisite performances. A very eloquent speaker, Sugato has given a number of lecture cum demonstrations in Universities, music institutions and schools in the US, UK, Australia, Singapore and Germany and have collaborated with western musicians in Australia to present Raga music through a western instrument ensemble and sitar. Sugato is a regular examiner for the premier and well known music institution SIFAS (Singapore Indian Fine Arts Society) for vocal and sitar. His music workshops both for the beginner and advanced students of music are a learning experience and a joy to attend. 

Abhijit Banerjee is considered to be one of the top ranking Indian musicians of present generation. Apart from his popularity as a tabla player, his musical concepts, interactions with various music and innovative compositions have given him a remarkable position in the arena of world music. His contributions to Indian music have delved into a diverse variety of world music crossover as both a performer and composer. He is accepted as one of pioneering disciples of the illustrious guru, the late Pt. Jnan Prakash Ghosh. He has been holding center stage in all of the major classical music festivals in India. and touring extensively in USA, Canada, U.K., Europe, Japan, Australia, South Africa, South East Asia and Mexico giving concerts, conducting workshops and attending seminars in the Universities and music schools. He has scored music for Indian television & won the National Award for Documentary Music for the film about Calcutta ‘The Trail’, which was screened in the Munich and Amsterdam film festivals. Abhijit has founded and established Dhwani Academy of Percussion Music in Los Angeles, New York, Singapore and Kolkata attracting talented students from all over the world. The Academy has initiated needy blind children in the art of music. Presently he is the Head of the Department (Music) Chinmaya Vishwavidyapeeth. In his academic life he is a graduate in English literature and post graduate in Journalism.

Pallab Bandyopadhyay was born to a musical family and got his first training in classical music from his father Sri Nihar Bandyopadhyay,an Indian Classical Guitarist. He later recieved extensive training from Padmabhushan Pt.V.G.Jog. Pallab Bandyopadhyay graduated from the University of Calcutta and did his special honours and masters in Instrumental Music from Rabindra Bharati University, Calcutta, India.
Pallab is the founder of an organisation Swar Sadhana, founded in the memory of his guru Padmabhushan Pt.V.G.Jog and he conducts a prestigious concert Guru Pranam every year to pay homage to his guru.
Pallab has adorned the stages of innumerable concerts across all over India as well as in Europe and the USA and Bangladesh. He also conducted lecture demonstrations in famous institutions like NJIT(New Jersey Institute of Technology),USA, Bharatiya Vidya Bhawan, United Kingdom, Doon School, India, Cambridgeshire Music, United Kingdom and many more. He is also a regular performer and a higher grade artist of The All India Radio and Doordarshan for the
past 25 years. He has recieved numerous awards and accolades.Few notable felicitations include those by the Deputy High Commission of Bangladesh, Bose Institute,Kolkata and The University of Calcutta.He was also the recipient of the prestigious Ranadhir Roy Award(Shantiniketan) and Ravi Sudha Samman(Tripura).

Kasturi born in a highly enriched family is the Daughter Of Internationally Renowned Tabla Maestro Pt.Ananda Gopal Bandopadhyay of Benaras Gharana.She was initiated into music by her mother Smt.Rekha Bandopadhyay at the age of four.After that she started taking talim from Vidushi.Smt Subhra Guha. She was also fortunate enough to receive talim for a couple of years under Legendary Guru Pt.K.G.Ginde.Since her childhood she is under the guidance Of Pt.Arun Bhaduri in Khayal and she was also receiving  talim in Semi-Classical from Late Vidushi Smt.Purnima Choudhury.And during her scholarship in ITC Sangeet Research Academy from the year 2009 she has also learned Semi-Classical from Late Padmavibhushan Vidushi Smt.Girija Devi too.
Kasturi has performed infront of Great Legendaries and Exponents  of Hindusthani Classical Music. To name a few such as Late Pt.Kishan Maharaj,Ustad Zakir Hussain, Late Ustad Sultan Khan, Late Pt.Bhimsen Joshi, Ustad Rashid Khan,Pt. Ajoy Chakraborty, Dr.L.Subramanium,Smt.Kavita Krishnamurthy ji. And she got loads and loads of blessings from them.Kasturi always keeps an eye on the  Purity of Raaga, as she learned from her Gurus and develops the Gayaki in a decent way.Especially she excels in Thumri, Dadra and in the other forms of Upa-shastriya Sangeet. 

Dibyarka Chatterjee is the son and disciple of Pandit Samir Chatterjee, and as such represents the Farrukhabad Gharana of tabla playing. Dibyarka has had the honor and privilege of performing and touring with some of the maestros of Indian Classical Music. He has been teaching tabla extensively in the NY & NJ area for more than a decade now, and is affiliated with many of the institutions that promote Indian Classical Music and Dance.

Anirban Chakrabarty, hails from a family of Musicians. He was initially trained by his father, Amal Chakrabarty, a dedicated musician and guru and then he got taalim under the tutelage of Pandit Manas Chakraborty, the doyen of Kotali Gharana. After a post graduate degree in music with first class from the Rabindra Bharati University Anirban has been performing across the world. He has accompanied Pt. Manas Chakrabarty, Gaan Saraswati Sreela Bandyopadhyay, Pt. Venkatesh Kumar, Vidushi Ashwini Bhide, Vidushi Arati Ankalikar, Pt. Ganpati Bhatt, Pt. Jayateerth Mevundi among others in major concerts like Dover lane Music Conference, Uttarpara Sangeet Chakra, Dakshinee Music Festival, Hariballabh Music Festival, Saptak , Sangeet Piyasi, Saltlake Music Conference and in major concerts in USA and Europe year after year.  Anirban also composes and arranges music in lighter forms.