Antiquity

The great exponent of Indian  Classical Music, Pt. Biresh Roy was born in Kolkata on10  th December 1923 to Shri Umeshchandra Roy and Smt. Subhashini Devi, in an upper  middle class, cultured and educated family. Recognizing the exceptional qualities of his son Umeshchandra Roy was determined to provide the best of education for him. In his upbringing there was a harmonious blend between a sound education along with being

exposed to a rich cultural atmosphere. Therefore, Pt. Biresh Roy was sent to Deoghar  Ramkrishna mission and from a very young age he began a period of rigorous talim in the  Kirana Saili under the tutelage of the great maestro, Pt. Girija Shankar Chakraborty  of Berhampore. Till the demise of his guru , at his residence in Harrison Road where he was  brought up in a strict atmosphere of musical discipline of Girija babu by his guru as well as   received the unstinted support, parental love and effection of girija Babu’s wife Monomotti devi, Pt. Biresh Roy shared a strong bond of  friendship and fraternity with the other disciples or his guru bhais ; - some of them being, Shri Sudhirlal Chakraborty, Jamini Ganguly, Sukhendu Goswami, Gnyanendra Prasad Goswami, Panalal Ghosh, Tarapada Chakraborty, Sunil Bose and  Joykrishna Sayanl.

At the tender age of 13 he gave his first performance of khyal at All India Radio and had been a regular artiste of the AIR ever since. His illustrious musical carrer began with performance in Kolkata and Bangladesh. His melodious rendition of ragas, innovative ideas, creative thinking, electrifying Taans and mellifluous thumri of the Bol-Banao Shaili left the audience mesmerized. With his brilliant performance, this maestro soon

won the he arts of the people not only in India but also abroad. Such was the popularity of this great artiste that performing at least twice in a year became a mandatory part of  his life. In 1979 he won a fellowship by the Deutsher Akademisher Austausch- Dienst  and lived in Germany for a whole year and during this period he gave innumerable performances, thought many students, as well as conducted Lecture- Damonstrations

and workshops. Amongst some of his not eworthy performances abroad are Musical performances organized by DAD and workshops as well as concerts at Rotterdam Conservatorium in Holland and Music Shool, Amsterdam, to name a few. He also held important designations such as the Principal of Sangeet Bharati and Giabitan as well as the post of guru and Prefect in Sangeet Research Academy. His excellence in music has been recognized all over in the world and he has many disciples not only in India but also abroad. This illustrious musical personality never believed in any kind of rigidity in music but was always open to new ideas and keen for exchange thoughts. This great maestro breathed his last in Kolkata in the early hours of morning on 28^th March 2013.