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Pandit Abhijit Banerjee – Exclusive Interview
By gaanmela | April 26, 2009
Pandit Abhijit Banerjee – Exclusive Interview
Considered among the front ranking tabla players from India , Abhijit Banerjee is one of the most sought after creative artists in the realm of Indian classical music. With nearly 20 years of professional experience Abhijit has crafted a unique style and creative approach which has brought him accolades and awards from allover the world for his sensitivity, skill and deep sense of musicality. Apart from his contributions to Indian music he has left his mark in a diverse field of crossover music both as a performer and composer. Listen to the Exclusive Interview with Pandit Abhijit Banerjee.
GaanMela: You started taking tabla lessons when you were only four years old from Shri TusharKanti Bose and Shri Manik Pal, and later from Pandit Gyan Prakash Ghosh. Why did you choose tabla?
Pt. Abhijit Banerjee: There is a little story behind it. We had a musical environment at home, my father being a singer by passion and my mother a sitarist. And our next door neighbor was a tabla player. Kids usually get more attracted towards tabla than any other musical instruments, and as a child I was no exception. I was very inquisitive about my next door neighbor and his tabla, and would often go over to his place to see him play. But what I did was quite different than what any other kid of my age would. Usually a kid would just beat the tabla, but I would put my hands on the instrument just as the way I watched my neighbor do. Seeing my natural knack in tabla, he suggested to my father to take me to a tabla teacher for formal training. That was how I started playing the tabla. I really never analyzed about why I took it as my instrument. Later, I was also very much attracted towards vocal and other instrumental music and took voice training and violin lessons, too. But tabla has always been my main subject.
GaanMela: You have taken vocal training from Pandit Ajay Chakraborty and violin lessons from your Guru Maa Annapurna Devi.
Pt. Abhijit Banerjee: Since we had a musical ambience at home, I have always taken interest in singing. My elder sister was a singer and I used to sing with her. In fact, I was quite good at singing and very serious about it. One day I was at Guru-ji Pandit Gyan Prakash Ghosh’s class, for my regular tabla lessons. There were some other students who had come for their vocal lessons. I happened to sing a song in front of Guru-ji, and he liked my singing. He advised me to take vocal training from Pandit Ajay Chakraborty. Ajay-da himself was then a scholar at the ITC-SRA (Sangeet Research Academy). It was later that he became a guru at the SRA. I took vocal lessons from Ajay-da for quite some time. Unfortunately, I developed a problem in my vocal chord, and had to quit singing. I was still playing the tabla, but I thought of taking up another instrument that could bridge up the gap. So, I started playing the violin, as it is the closest instrument to voice. My first guru in violin was Shri ShishirKona Dhar Chowdhury. After some time, I had the rare fortune to be a disciple of GuruMaa Annapurna Devi. By this time I got so much busy in my prefession that I was neither being able to devote much time and practice to violin, nor was I being very regular to my classes. I could not practice playing violin with as much seriousness as she was showing in teaching me, and in course of time, had to give it up. But my violin lessons have helped me develop my musical sense on the whole and made me more matured as a musician. Music is vast subject, and tabla, vocal, instruments are all parts of it. So all my lessons in different subjects of music have helped me a lot in my compositional work.
GaanMela: What would be your suggestions to the students? Should they try to learn the multiple disciplines at the same time, or it is advisable to learn a single discipline properly before switching on to another discipline?
Pt. Abhijit Banerjee: I have talked to several masterminds in music. They have all said – and I, too, think – that one needs to master a discipline with utmost dexterity. One may attempt to know various disciplines, but it is next to impossible to be a master in everything. So, I would suggest that you try to learn a single discipline with all your heart, before you try to explore the marvels of another discipline. If you want to be a musician, then all your musical innovations must to be made regarding your chosen discipline.
GaanMela: You have worked with three different expressions – tabla, vocal, and violin. How do they complement each other?
Pt. Abhijit Banerjee: Let me explain it to you a bit more clearly. Music is a vast subject, and tabla is a part of it. Now if you want to play the tabla, you have to know well not only the subject, but also about the other disciplines of music as well. If you are accompanying another musician, you have to have knowledge about his/her discipline, too. When you are playing with a vocalist, you need to realize the singer’s needs and what exactly to implement to make the music flow over smoothly. And to implement your knowledge of one discipline in harmony with the other disciplines, you have to know about them too. All of the greatest tabla maestros are skilled in at least a couple of instruments, and are also good singers. Similarly, all great instrumentalists know how to play several other instruments, apart from their own specialties, and of course know how to play the tabla. This is about the classical artists. For composers, it works a bit differently. They know how to play one instrument, but at the same time they have to think about the totality of music and how to use all other instruments in the musical pieces. So no matter whatever you do, in the beginning you have to concentrate on any one discipline that will help you learn all about the subject.
GaanMela: So if someone else is accompanying you in the tabla, when you are playing the violin or singing, does it make you feel uncomfortable, since tabla is your main subject?
Pt. Abhijit Banerjee: Yes, of course. I am always sensitive about someone else accompanying me in the tabla, no matter how good or bad they play. With the not so good accompanists, I keep on thinking about how I would have played in this scenario. I cannot, however, stop in the middle of a song, but it keeps intruding. And when they are good at playing the tabla, I still get distracted with the ‘bols’ they play.
GaanMela: Does tabla play a dominant role too, when you compose a musical piece?
Pt. Abhijit Banerjee: Since table is my principal discipline, the compositions I make are a lot more versatile in rhythms. Although I have taken vocal lessons and am aware of the ragas and try to think as a singer when composing different pieces, my sense of rhythm as a tabla player still plays a dominant role. I cannot avoid it.
GaanMela: Abhijit-da, you a graduate in English, and a post graduate in Journalism. When and why did you think of taking music as profession?
Pt. Abhijit Banerjee: I did not really think about taking music as my profession. It just happened. And to tell you the truth, the average Bengali households, and perhaps non-Bengalis, too, cannot really think of music being an actual profession. My father worked for a company for some time and then started a business of his own. His friends did not believe for a very long time that I am a musician and music is my profession. They have always had the impression that being as a musician, I was financially dependent on my father. It took them a long time to realize that I make my own living just being a music professional. Or perhaps they still do not believe me, but somehow they do not show it anymore; but it’s a very common way of thinking. And if your instrument is tabla, then things become even worse. The majority of the people cannot really think that tabla in particular, can help you earn your living. For quite some time, I myself could not think much differently. So I worked as a journalist in the Telegraph for quite some time. But music is very addictive. Once you are into music, you cannot concentrate in anything else. That was why I quit being a journalist. Let me tell you a about a small incident. Once I went to cover a musical program where a famous persona was reciting some poems, with Ustad Ali Akbar Khan’s sarod lightly being played in the background. Once the music started, I got completely lost in it, totally forgetting what I was there for. That was the very day I realized that I am completely unsuitable for things like that. I often see people listen to music and doing Maths at the same time. I have never ever been able to do that. I think it is simply not possible for a musician, or someone who loves music that profoundly, to concentrate on anything else with the music on. This has happened several times where I got completely lost in music when I had something more important to do as part of my job. Then there was a time when the Prime Ministers was elected; I was freelancing for Telegraph and had to cover those political issues within 24 hours. After spending a couple of nights to cover the story, I quit journalism. I was very sure by then that it was just not my job. It was also a very crucial time for me because I had already started playing in quite a few musical concerts, and my association there was becoming stronger with time. Journalism is a full time job and a very demanding one. And you cannot really do several things at a time, especially if you want to be honest to whatever you are doing. So I decided to stay with music, and music only.
GaanMela: How secure is music as a profession? Is it why common people do not think that music can be a full time profession?
Pt. Abhijit Banerjee: Nothing is totally secure as a profession except government jobs. Not all doctors or lawyers are successful in their professions. Music is not any exception either. It does not guarantee any more than any other means of livelihood. But at the same time it is not as insecure as people think. And with time music is becoming more of a profession than ever before. The music industry along with the market of performing arts is gradually increasing. So, thinking in terms of business, it can a very good profession.
GaanMela: When did you start playing as an accompanist?
Pt. Abhijit Banerjee: When one plays the tabla, he/she has to be an accompanist. So I have always been an accompanist. But I have been very fortunate to play with an eminent sitarist of Kolkata, Subrata Roy Chowdhury. I had always played with him, but when I was in the eleventh grade or twelveth at the Scottish Church College, Subrata da took me to Paris on one of his musical tours. It was at the end of 1981; we performed in several European countries for about a month. These days you see a lot of musicians go abroad, but it was not very common and easy at that time. It was a very rewarding experience for me, and as a young boy of that age, visiting Paris and Germany interested me much more than the music concerts. Then when I was in the first year of my graduation, I was playing solo in a concert, when a gentleman approached me along with my English professor Amlan Dasgupta, now a professor in the English department in the Jadavpur University. Amlan Dasgupta was a keen music lover, and he was also very fond of the tabla. The person who was with him was the son of the eminent sitar maker Hiren Ray. I call him Bachchu-da. It was the first time we met, to become very close friends in course of time. Hiren Ray was a very good friend of the sitarist Pandit Nikhil Banerjee. Bachchu-da later talked about me to Pandit Nikhil Banerjee, and how much he liked my tabla. Then one day Pandit Nikhil Banerjee called at my home and left a message with my mother for me to go and see him. I was totally startled and could not believe it at first. Anyway, I called him and he asked to come and accompany him on the tabla. I went to see him the very next day and played in front of the great music persona. He liked my music and asked me to accompany him whenever I could. It was a very big turning point for me to play with Pandit Nikhil Banerjee at that age, when I was still in the college. I wonder if anyone else at that young age have had the fortune to play with such a great musician. I consider myself very very lucky. I accompanied him in many of his musical tours to the continents of Europe and America in 1984. It was a great feeling for me to be with such a great person. Every budding musician dreams to be with a great music persona. It is a lifetime’s achievement for any student of music. It is a big part of enriching yourself as a musician. Just writing music in your notebooks is not enough to be a musician. A musician is more than just a mere performer – how you go on to the stage and leave the Dias, your performance, behavior and lifestyle, all count. I had the golden opportunity to observe and witness Pandit ji in some of his musical concerts that has helped me develop myself as a musician. But a year after we came back from the tour, Pandit Nikhil Banerjee passed away. It was in 1986, after the Dover Lane Music Conference. His passing away was a deep shock to me. It was the same time I was taking lessons in vocal, and trying my career as a journalist. I lost the spirit for pursuing my journey as a musician. However, life again brought me the chance to play with the renowned vocalist Begum Parween Sultana. It was again another turning point for me and I resumed my music career and gradually I stopped working as a journalist.
GaanMela: Who is your audience in the musical concerts abroad?
Pt. Abhijit Banerjee: It depends on where I am performing. In America, depending on the organization, the audience can be Indian or American. However, in Europe the audience is mostly European, with the only exception in London. In the USA, we have more NRIs, so there can be more Indians, depending on the organization.
GaanMela: You have accompanied almost all the great musicians of our times. Would you please share some of your experience with them.
Pt. Abhijit Banerjee: Yes, I have played with a lot of great musicians. I do not know what to say other than that playing with all of them has been a great experience. The only thing I would like to add, the greater a musician, the more command he has over the performance. As a co-musician , I can feel their profound skill and knowledge in music. Accompanying someone of the stature of Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma is very different from being with someone junior to him. And playing with a great persona enriches myself as a musician. That is the most important aspect of the whole thing.
GaanMela: Abhijit-da, you have played the tabla with both North Indian and South Indian classical music. Please tell us how different it is to play with South Indian music from playing with North Indian Music.
Pt. Abhijit Banerjee: It is very different, because South Indian music is totally different from North Indian music. The very basics of music are the same in both, but what is different is the approach. So when we accompany with the South Indian music, our approach needs to be different too. We have to prepare ourselves for that. When playing with a South Indian music, you have know about the type of music being played, and have to have a lot more senses in rhythms and their intricacies. And the implementations have to quite different., just the way it is when I accompany in jazz music.
GaanMela: Do you play tabla when you are playing with a jazz group?
Pt. Abhijit Banerjee: Yes, I mostly play the tabla. However, in a few occasions I have sung or played some other instrument like the Khanjira. I have never played the violin. When you are playing with a jazz group, you need to have some knowledge in the subject itself, about the rhythm structure and its progression, and bring out the proper effects. When playing with the jazz, it does not require my direct knowledge of tabla, nor do I have to directly play the tabla. What I need to do is to apply my knowledge in tabla in a totally different scenario and make it useful and effective. As long as you do not learn how to apply your wisdom, you are a student, and your education is not complete yet. Though we are students all our lives, as long as you do not know the implementation of your subject your education is insufficient.
GaanMela: So, does it require a lot of preparation when playing with jazz?
Pt. Abhijit Banerjee: There has to be some preparation, not a whole lot I would say. But you need to think about the music and how you can contribute to it.
GaanMela: Are there any good schools in Kolkata where they teach jaaz and western classical?
Pt. Abhijit Banerjee: Yes, there are some good institutions these days. We have always had a lot of talented jazz musicians and guitar players in Kolkata. The Calcutta School of Music offers classes in Western classical.
GaanMela: Have you worked with fusion between the Indian and the Western music?
Pt. Abhijit Banerjee: Yes, I definitely have. It is the latest trend. I have a musical group named “Tarang” where we work with fusion music. Last year we played fusion music in Los Angeles Music Festival. The common notion that fusion music is just the crossover between the Eastern and the Western. But fusion can be between any different types of music. The crossovers between classical and folk, Eastern and Far East or Middle East, Western and Middle Eastern, South Indian and North Indian music are all fusions. Last year we played with a Japanese Taiko drumming group. There have not been many instances of fusion music between the Japanese Taiko drumming and Indian music. Very little work has been done, mainly based on the guitar and drums, not in much depth of the subject. I have immensely enjoyed working on this rare fusion between the East and the Far East. I have to listen to music from all over the world and that is something I enjoy doing, too. I have previously worked with Middle Eastern music, that is Arabian music, and with Indonesian gamelan music. I have lived in Bali for a while, and learnt how to play the gamelan. In the Chicago World Festival of Music, we represented five countries. There were representatives from China, Japan, Burma, Indonesia and me from India. It was another rare performance that does not happen very often. It was a great experience rehearsing with all the other musicians and we presented a two hour musical session in the festival.
GaanMela: You are the founder of both “Dhwani” and “Tarang”. Please tell us somethting about them.
Pt. Abhijit Banerjee: “Dhwani” is the music institution that I founded, and “Tarang” is the music group which I started to focus mainly on compositional works. I am the leading musician in “Tarang” and have with me my co-musicians. The compositions played by “Tarang” are all my creations. I occasionally sing there too, besides playing the tabla. “Dhwani” is a music school that I started almost seven – eight years back in India. We offer free classes to blind and mentally retarded students. Every year we choose two of our best students and give them scholarship and the opportunity for public performance with many other renowned musicians. We also present the very best student with an award of 15,000 rupees in memory of my guruji, the late Manik Pal. We are doing this for the last five years now. In that sense, “Dhwani” is not just a music school – we are trying to help the physically or mentally challenged people learn music. There have been several efforts made to teach the disabled how to read and write, but there have not been many instances where they were taught music. And when we give them music lessons, they enjoy it. The idea came to me when I played music at a school for the disabled people in England. I tried to come up with a similar organization in India. That was how “Dhwani” started. Our school has now flourished with time, and we have a branches of “Dhwani” in Los Angeles, California, and in New York. My student Jyoti (Jyoti Prakash) takes care of my LA school. He stays there all year round and gives lessons to the students. I, too, come to the US to take care of the students, and here too, we offer lessons to disabled ones. It is a community work in my little own way. We, however, do not offer classes other than on percussion yet. Mostly we teach tabla, pakhwaj, and also about south Indian rhythms.
GaanMela: In the United States, who are the students in your music schools?
Pt. Abhijit Banerjee: We have all kinds of students. There are many second generation Indians, who try to preserve our culture and heritage, come to my schools. Besides, we have a lot of foreigners who come to learn Indian music. We have a wide variety of international people, not just only Americans. We have students from all nationalities- Mexican, Hispanic, Japanese to name a few.
GaanMela: For quite a few years, we have had several new trends like “Band”, “JibonMukhi” and the younger generation are very much inclined to learn these kinds of music. There was a time when we had to learn Indian classical music. Even if we wanted to sing Rabindra Sengeet, NazrulGeeti, or any other light songs, learning classical was a must. But a large portion of the new generation is now inclined towards the newer trends of music. So, do you think that we are not having enough students these days who appreciate the Indian Classical music?
Pt. Abhijit Banerjee: There has always been a part of the population who have not come to the classical music. I do not intend to criticize the bands or the other newer forms of music that have recently developed. We should always appreciate new things and take them with open minds. This is a totally Western thing: we did not have anything like it in Indian history of music. And there is nothing wrong in taking up something that has come from the West. If we can dress up in western attire, and there is nothing wrong in it, then there is nothing wrong in doing Western music. But the problem lies somewhere else. Most of the folks who form bands are the ones who have never been much educated in music. A couple of their songs may click and bring fame, but other than that there is nothing much that can be said in appreciation of those bands. Most of the time, they are not musically enriched and do not even sing their notes properly. And that is what makes me sad. In the West, you have to learn all about harmonization, which is the very basic key of building a band. In the West, their lessons in harmonization start in school choirs. So later on when they start singing in the bands, the singers do not deviate from their respective notes. However, in India, they try to play the guitar, just as they do in the West, but the musical effect they generate is awful. They may think they rule the world of music, but that does not really carry any meaning. Hitler once ruled the world too. Does it really matter anymore today? I am not really concerned about things like that at all.
GaanMela: You do not think that a few decades down the road we will not have classical music at all.
Pt. Abhijit Banerjee: Not at all. I am totally confident about the existence of classical music. It was always there, and will always be. Bands, on the other hand, may not survive that long. Classical music has survived its long journey of 5,000 years. Just like our original religion – I won’t use the term Hinduism – that has survived all external invasions as evident in history. We still exist with our original religion undeterred. I think anything precious and meaningful always wins in the long run. They may change their forms, however, in course of time. ‘Dhrupad’ may transform into kheyal, or kheyal into some other form, but the classical form will always be there. I might add here, that classical form is not acceptable to everyone. You may think that we do not have a larger audience for classical music these days. But to tell you the truth, classical music never had that large an audience. You cannot except the people at the mass-level or the very grass-root level to appreciate classical music. It is just not possible. I might add here that as a person, when I express my myself in music, it does not have to be classical all the time. I often sing a lot of light songs, like the songs sung by Kishore Kumar or some folk songs, for example, because they have a better ability to touch one right into the heart. All these different forms of music will always be there, too. So, coming back to the discussion of bands, all I have to say is that before you form a band, you have to learn about music and how things work in a band.
GaanMela: So, you do not have any negative feelings about bands.
Pt. Abhijit Banerjee: No, I don’t have any negative feelings. Rather, I do not have any feelings at all. “I just don’t care.” Let them do whatever they want to. It does not really affect me.
GaanMela: What kind of songs do you personally like to listen?
Pt. Abhijit Banerjee: I listen to a variety of songs, especially Bengali songs. One of my all time favorite singers is Manna Dey. I also love to listen to the oldies, but unfortunately, most of those singers have passed away. I love the songs by Suman Chattopadhyay, especially the ones penned in his early singing career. Let me tell a funny anecdote. I often visited a DTP (desktop publishing) center to take care of some business. One of their employees was a young boy. In between work, they all listened to the songs aired on the FM. One day he told me that the FM channel alternatively broadcasts a ‘band’ song and a ‘good’ song. I asked him if he had listened to the bands singing, and he said that he had. So I asked him why he distinguished between a ‘band song’ and a good song. He tried to explain to me that a band song is just a band song, and the other songs were the good ones. I told him that I quite understood what he was trying to convey, and that according to him a band song is anything but good. I did not teach him to say that. It was solely his opinion and I have known others who think the same way too. And all these folks who have expressed similar opinion are the audience of the band songs. As I have already said, it does not really matter whatever they do. All I have to say is that they need to learn music properly. These bands often make themselves subject to much ridicule in the West, which is the birthplace of the bands. I have heard a lot of the Western musicians complain about the lack of harmonization among our band singers. That is what I really resent. These folks do not care to learn whatever our original music offers, nor are they musically trained in whatever they trying to produce. It will not be a bad thing at all, if they learn some music properly before attempting to form a band. The bad part is their musical representation, that shows their inadequacy in the subject. Otherwise, band is definitely welcome and we should encourage the youth in trying new things. But it might get better with time. After a few decades, when this experimental part will be over, things will get lot better. Every new invention has to go through a lot transformation. The bands are still in their experimental stage. Once they are done with this process of modification, their presentation will definitely get better and they will be more musically educated. People may get pretty mad at me right now for saying this. But if they look back at this current period of transition 25 years down the road, they might feel the same way as I do right now.
GaanMela: Who are your all time favorite musicians?
Pt. Abhijit Banerjee: As far as classical music is concerned, Pandit Nikhil Banerjee, Ustad Vilayat Khan, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, are definitely some my favorite instrumentalists. We have so much genius and talents in the Indian classical music, it is really hard to choose a favorite. Everyone is great in their respective fields. And for tabla, my all time favorite is Ustad Zakir Hussain. He is a genuis. We know Zakir-ji for many of his other creativities too. But I think his greatest talent is as a tabla player, and then the rest.
Listen to Pandit Abhijit Banerjee online
GaanMela: Who are the promising musicians of this generation?
Pt. Abhijit Banerjee: There are a lot of promising classical musicians. And the newer generation is more concerned about taking music as their professions. They are very serious about it. The standard of classical music is still very high and even better in some cases. But you do not expect to get a genius like Pandit Ravi Shankar in every generation, just like a genius like Rabindranath is not born in every age. But the overall standard of classical music has definitely improved with time.
GaanMela: What would you suggest to the budding musicians?
Pt. Abhijit Banerjee: I would tell them to give it their best try. The more you devote to the subject, they more you get out of it. This is what we were advised by our teachers too.
GaanMela: You have created music for many telefilms and short films, and it brought you a lot of international awards in return. How independently can you work when directing music for a film?
Pt. Abhijit Banerjee: In some cases, I had to compromise to the wants of the producer or the director of the film, though not to the audience demand. But it was not that bad. Personally, I think it is the director who makes the film knows more about it and has a bigger responsibility about the film. It is all right to go with what the directors’ wants. And most of the time we discussed things together before we jumped to any conclusion.
GaanMela: How much important role do the online media play on the life of an artist?
Pt. Abhijit Banerjee: The online media is a very new concept. It has been introduced in India too, but it has not been much exploited in India as in the West. I think it is going to be a very revolutionary medium. If used effectively, it can reduce distance of learning and enhance accessibility.
GaanMela: Please sing a few lines from a favorite song of yours.
Pt. Abhijit Banerjee: Let me sing a few lines from one of my compositions. “Jag Me Ishwar Tero Naam / Jo Allah Wohi Ishwar / Daya Karo Mujhko / Dukh Se Karo Paar / Tuhiko Smarana Kare baar baar“.
Listen to the exclusive Interview with Pandit Abhijit Banerjee by GaanMela
More About Abhijit banerjee
Recognizing his talent and natural inclination towards music his father steered him to tabla at the age of four. Abhijit also studied vocal music and violin making a complete musician out of him. Now he is accepted as one of pioneering disciples of the illustrious guru, the late Jnan Prakash Ghosh.
Abhijit has accompanied nearly all the top ranking luminaries of Indian classical music including Pt.Ravi Shankar, late Pt.Nikhil Banerjee, Begum Parweena Sultana, Pt.Jasraj, Pt Shiv Kumar Sharma, Dr. Balamurali Krishnan to name a few. As a tabla soloist he has also made his mark in numerous performances and recordings in India & abroad.
Abhijit 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. His International performances of note include Lincoln Center , Carnegie Hall, Gevant Haus in Germany , Paleis in Brussels , Theatre de la Ville & Radio France in Paris , South Bank, U.K. Abhijit also has had the honor of representing India in the Granada Festival of Music in Spain .
In addition to a highly successful career in Indian Classical music his crossover work includes collaborations with musicians such as Ry Cooder, Larry Corryell and Trilok Gurtu. Abhijit founded his own touring ensemble TARANG performing his original compositions, and released a CDs of the same title. He is also member of the Raga Jazz group, Arohi Ensemble .
Abhijit 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 & established Dhwani Academy of Percussion in Los Angeles , New york , Singapore and Calcutta attracting talented students from around the world. The Academy also works towards the promotion of Indian music and has initiated needy blind children in the art of music.
In his academic life he is a graduate in English literature and post graduate in Journalism.
Achievements
As An Accompanist :
- Pt.Ravi Shankar
- Late Pt.Nikhil Banerjee
- Begum Parweena Sultana
- Pt. Jasraj
- Pt Shiv Kumar Sharma
- Dr. Balamurali Krishnan
As a tabla soloist he has also made his mark in numerous performances and recordings in India & abroad.
Tours : Abhijit has been holding center stage in all of the major classical music festivals in India. Outside India he extensively travelled in:
- USA
- Canada
- U.K.
- Europe
- Japan
- Australia
- South Africa
- South East Asia
- Mexico
Other Performances :
His International performances of note include
- Lincoln Center
- Carnegie Hall
- Gevant Haus in Germany
- Paleis in Brussels
- Theatre de la Ville
- Radio France in Paris
- South Bank, U.K.
Ry Cooder
Larry Corryell
Trilok Gurtu
Abhijit 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.
TARANG - his ensemble
Abhijit founded his own touring ensemble TARANG performing his original compositions, and released a CDs of the same title. He is also member of the Raga Jazz group, Arohi Ensemble .
DHWANI – Academy of Percussion Music
Abhijit has founded & established Dhwani Academy of Percussion in Los Angeles , New york , Singapore and Calcutta attracting talented students from around the world. The Academy also works towards the promotion of Indian music and has initiated needy blind children in the art of music.
Visit homepage of Abhijit Banerjee to learn More.
Performances with other Musicians :
Pandit Abhijit Banerjee - Exclusive Interview with GaanMela
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Topics: Interviews | 1 Comment »
May 2nd, 2009 at 10:59 pm
I would like to acknowledge Mr. Gurudas Bajani for helping me with the interview. I am also thankful to Pandit Abhijit Banerjee for sharing his thoughts and memories with us at Gaanmela.