About the Artiste
Pt. Nikhil Banerjee was born in Calcutta into a Brahmin family, where a musical profession was discouraged, although his father. Pt. Jitendranath Banerjee, who played the Sitar as a hobby, initiated Pt. Nikhil Banerjee into it. Young Nikhil grew into a child prodigy, won an All – Bengal Sitar Competition at the age of 9 and was soon playing for all India Radio. At that time, his sister was a student of the great maestro Ustad Amir Khan, who became a life – long influence on Pt. Nikhil Banerjee. His father Pt. Jitendranath approached Ustad Mushtaq Ali Khan to accept the young boy as a student. Pt. Nikhil Banerjee thus had his initial training under him. In 1947 Pt. Nikhil Banerjee met Acharya Allauddin Khan, who was to become his main guru along with his son Ustad Ali Akbar Khan.
Pt. Nikhil Banerjee then embarked on a concert career that was to take him across the seas. Perhaps reflecting his early upbringing, he always remained a humble musician, and was content with much less limelight than a payer of his stature could have vied for. For him, music – making was a spiritual rather than a worldly path. Giving him his due, in 1968, he was decorated with the Padma Shri and posthumously also received the Padma Bhushan.
About the Music
The album opens with the late evening raga Puriya Kalyan followed by raga Hem Bihag, the unique raga from Maihar Gharana. Both these ragas are releasing for the first time on CD.
1. Raga: Puriya Kalyan [1968] Alap, Gat Madhyalaya & Drut Teentaal Tabla – Pt. Kanai Dutta, Tanpura – Vikram Jasani
2. Raga: Hem Bihag [1978] Gat Vilambit Teentaal Tabla – Pt. Kishan Maharaj
3. Raga: Hem Bihag [1978] Gat Madhyalaya and Drut Teentaal & Ektaal Tabla – Pt. Kishan Maharaj
Live in concert at Rabindra Sadan organized by Malhar
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