- This event has passed.
Music & Comedy
Classical recital with Sougata Roy Chowdhury
South Asia Institute Presents
Sougata Roy Chowdhury
South Asian Classical Sarod Recital
Friday, October 20th
7:30 PM Start / 7:00 Doors
$20. advance / $25 day of show
Sougata Roy Chowdhury is considered to be among the most talented sarod players of his generation. Born in a Bengali artistic family in Santiniketan. His father, Prof. Sarbari Roy Chowdhury, was an eminent sculptor and also a great music connoisseur and his mother, Smt. Ajanta Roy Chowdhury is an Indian classical vocalist of the Agra Gharana. Sougata started to learn sarod, an ancient fretless lute-like instrument of North Indian, at the early age of 10 with Ustad Dhyanesh Khan, son of the great sarod legend Ustad Ali Akbar Khan. Sougata’s Guru taught him the technique of sarod, discipline in traditional Indian music, and compositions in various Ragas for many years until his guru’s untimely passing. He continued his study with Dhyanesh Khan’s elder brother, Ustad Aashish Khan, and under his current Guruji, Pandit Santosh Banerjee, a well-respected and highly knowledgeable sitar and surbahar player based in Kolkata, who is one of the main disciples of Ustad Mohammed Dabir Khan, the last descendant of the Miyan Tansen family. Sougata also has received mentorship from the legendary Ustad Ali Akbar Khan himself and his senior disciple Pandit Rajiv Taranath. He is heavily influenced by Ali Akbar Khan as he considers himself a devotee of him and admires him as a ‘God of knowledge’. Sougata continues to research the late Ustad’s creations and artistry and respects his spiritual approach and path to the musical journey. Tabla accompaniment will be by Raj Deshmukh. A gifted student of tabla legend Swapan Chaudhuri.
