Two Maestros - at their peak

Buddhadev Das Gupta is the senior most exponent of one of the most authentic sarod gharanas today. He is a true genius with numerous achievements and one of the best known cultural ambassadors of our country.

Born in 1933 at Bhagalpur, he started his training from the age of ten from the sarod maestro, Radhika Mohan Moitra. His training continued for a period of 38 years until the demise of his teacher - the longest and most intensive training imparted by the great maestro to a disciple.

Since Radhika Mohan took his talim from Md. Ameer Khan, whose gharana's forte was the rabab-style of playing and also from Md. Dabir Khan of the Rampur Senia gharana, Buddhadev's style is based largely on that of his teacher's - emerging from a synthesis of the two gharanas. However, it is his unique musical personality that has shaped a distinctive style, completely his own. A deep understanding of the raga, a rare accuracy of the swaras, a superb balance between a gayaki and tantrakari, together with powerful bol patterns and fluent ekhara taans, of which he has been a pioneer, mark his music.

The recital emphasizes considerable research work on sarod and music in general.

Anindo Chatterjee is an Indian tabla player from Farukhabad gharana. He is a disciple of Pt. Jnan Prakash Ghosh. Gifted with an ability to summon crystal-clear melodies from his drums, Anindo Chatterjee evolved into one of the world's greatest tabla players. The director of the Farrukhabad Gharana of Tabla, founded by Haji Vilayat Khan Saheb, Chatterjee continues to give new voice to his instrument. In addition to solo performances and recordings, Chatterjee worked with sitar players Pandit Nikhil Banerjee, Budhahitya Mukherjee, and Ustad Rais Khan; sarod players Buddhadev Das Gupta and Ali Akbar Kahn; flautist Hariprasad Chaurasia; santoor player Pandit Shivkumar Sharma; and vocalists Pandit Mallikarjun Mansur and Gangubai Hangal. Inspired by his uncle, Pandit Biswanath Chatterjee, Chatterjee began playing tabla at the age of five. Studying briefly with Ustad Afaq Hussain Khan of the Lucknow Gharana, he advanced to Pandit Jnan Prakesh, with whom he studied for three decades. The recipient of the prestigious President's Award in 1970, Chatterjee became the first table player to perform in the House of Commons 20 years later. He performed at Rashtrapati Bhavan when U.S. President Barack Obama visited India in November 2010. Chatterjee received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for 2002.