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"Kaushiki is the one young Indian classical vocalist everyone should listen to. Purity of voice, excellent control, maturity and a deep sensitivity demonstrate that this new CD is a milestone in the development of a great talent." "Kaushiki Chakrabarty is one of the very few classical vocalists who will make a mark in the 21st century...." This was the assessment made by Bhimsen Joshi, one of India's greatest classical vocalists of the modern era. |
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| Kaushiki Chakrabarty - Pure Bliss Kaushiki Chakrabarty had just got back to India after collecting the coveted BBC World Music Award for Asia/Pacific when we spoke. Her voice may be transcendent but her concerns are mundane things like catching up on missed classes. | |
| A visit to her BBC World Music Awards winner profile gives a snapshot of the reaction back home to this successful but young singer in a tradition that does not value youth per se. Many are ecstatically proud at the way she has used her talents to bring her tradition of music to the attention of the world, while a significant minority resent her success at this stage of her career. 'Let's hear her in 10 or 15 years', they mutter. Perhaps to the very finely-tuned ears of some, she has a long way to go but for most listeners, there is no doubt that Kaushiki has a stunning voice. Training is always required and it actually has no ending Certainly, Kaushiki had the good fortune to be born to highly accomplished musical parents, "Though my mother was my first teacher, she was more a mother to me and my father was always a strict Guru. He would expect me to sing and understand everything he taught in one single go. My father has always been more of a Guru to me [than a father] and the mode of our relationship was always music." Her father is the highly regarded Hindustani classical singer Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty. He denies putting too much pressure on Kaushiki, responding recently with the poetic disclaimer, "When a flower blooms, one doesn't shove it under the nose. The fragrance travels by itself." The student/guru relationship which occasionally happens by itself in Western musical forms is at the very heart of classical Indian traditions, "As it is a verbal tradition, it is passed through oral training in the presence of the Guru and student. Up to a certain standard, it is basically about trying to reproduce whatever you hear. After a certain time — when your own musical understanding develops — you then try to create and imagine your own ways and create on the basis of what you learn. Training is always required and it actually has no ending." One thing is for sure though, Kaushiki showed great promise at a very early age and has been attracting attention from distinguished musicians for some time. "It feels great when legendary musicians listen to you and bless you. And I think that their expectations are the basic source of inspiration and driving force that makes you work to reach greater heights" it is too early for me to think about going out of the tradition and experimenting with other forms Her latest album Pure has created a great deal of excitement among those who love classical Indian music and, unusually, it has punched through to a wider audience, "The kind of love and recognition that Pure has received proves once again the power and appeal of Indian music and when you see people outside your country recognising your tradition it feels great. I also feel that we all share a responsibility to take our tradition to greater heights and to reach more and more audiences." I asked her for some listening tips for the MTV generation, "Our music is so rich and vast and versatile that it never seems to be monotonous. I would definitely agree with you that as a new listener it may be difficult for someone to understand the intricacies of it, but once you start listening to it, you enjoy it and that is how you train your ears to listen and appreciate Indian classical music." Perhaps mindful of her critics and the expectations now on her, Kaushiki plans to keep practicing and developing her skills within her own tradition, "I think it is too early for me to think about going out of the tradition and experimenting with other forms. I think my own tradition demands a lot more time and dedication from me." So when she is not practicing or playing, how does Kaushiki spend her time? "I enjoy studying Philosophy and I believe that Philosophy and Music are the two factors that make the Indian tradition so versatile and unique. I like to spend the time that I get away from music on something productive and positive." Perhaps there is a wild demon rock diva hiding in there somewhere? Well, I doubt it to be honest. Kaushiki may be at the start of a long musical journey but she has been blessed by prodigious natural talent and a level head. Her album Pure is likely to be one of the most beautiful things you hear this year. |
| Artist: | Kaushiki Chakrabarty |
| Title: | Pure |
| Many reviews of Indian artists will speak of their early achievements – tales of their prodigious ability at a very young age. Kaushiki Chakrabarty is no exception, in fact her mother noticed that she had was able to reproduce vocally virtually any musical and rhythmic phrase at the age of two. In the intervening 22 years since then Kaushiki has built a reputation which is the envy of all of her peers. Two of the masters of Indian classical vocal of the 20th century - Bhimsen Joshi and Pandit Jasraj - have acclaimed the young singer as the future of khayal and thumri into the new millenium. But Kaushiki also crosses boundaries, her range can vary across the musical spectrum, 'though here we're concentrating on the classical theme. Raga Madhuvanti is a new rag – it has appeared within the last 50 or so years and on 'Pure' Kaushiki presents two khayal pieces based on Madhuvanti. The opening of this CD, recorded at the Queen's Theatre , Hornchurch, London, consists a short alap with Kaushiki accompanied by the gentle drone of the tanpura. The first composition - Bara Khayal (composer: Ajoy Chakrabarty) has a 12-beat rhythm, or ektaal, with tabla providing solid rhythmic accompaniment. Kaushiki's voice swoops and soars, concentrating the mind on the depth and maturity of her performance and the entire 28-minute-long piece is intense and very moving. The second composition features Chotta Khayal, a love song which speaks of the joy of being re-united after an extended separation. Again, Kaushiki manages to inject a powerful emotional feeling into the mid-paced piece and the audience react with rapturous applause. A lighter work - Thumri in Raga Misra Mand - gently winds down proceedings on this excellent concert recording with a series of quite beautiful improvisations. Accompanists are: Yogesh Samsi - tabla, Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty and Sri Chiranjib Chakraborty on harmonium and Ranjana Ghatak playing tanpura. Here's a clip from the second composition, Kahe maan karo sakhiri ab. |
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| Shahbaz Hussain, Partha Desikan, Kaushiki Chakrabarty Desikan, |
| Kaushiki Chakrabarty Desikan and Partha Desikan delight Atlanta By Amitava Sen Atlanta has had the privilege of hearing Kaushiki Chakrabarty Desikan perform with her father, Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty, on several occasions, notably at the Georgia World Congress Center during the Banga Sammelan of 2002. Since then we have heard of her meteoric rise, and her performance this Sunday, June 16th, gave us ample proof. Given only a short notice, a sizeable audience of about one hundred Indian classical music lovers gathered at the Swanton Amphitheatre in the Holiday Inn in Decatur and were regaled with a scintillating presentation of Hindustani classical and semi-classical vocal music by Kaushiki and her husband Partha Desikan. The artists enjoyed the ambience of the small and comfortable auditorium, which was sponsored by Salim Jetha, a long-time aficionado of classical music in Atlanta. It is noteworthy that the sound system, set up by Raktim Sen, was flawless, doing justice to the level of the performance. The early evening concert began with Partha Desikan's rendition of Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan's bandishes in raga Bhupali, in vilambit ektal and drut teental, followed by a tarana. Partha, nurtured as a Sangeet Research Academy scholar by Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty, and winner of several awards early in his career, proved that he was truly worthy of carrying on his tradition. Kaushiki Chakrabarty Desikan then began with raga Madhuvanti. Kaushiki elected to perform the same bandishes as in her most acclaimed album "Pure" after which she won the BBC Radio 3 "World Music Award (Asia/Pacific)" in 2005: "shaam bhaee, Ghanashyam nahi aye" in vilambit ektal, and "kaahe man karo, sakhiri ab" in drut teental. This evening, her layakari and taans were excellent and the rendition even superior to that in the album, with able support on the harmonium by Brajeswar Mukherjee, and on the tabla by Shahbaz Hussain. After a short intermission, Kaushiki sang a dadra in Mishra Pilu, "jiya mora na lage," a romantic, pining song that touches the soul. This had several melodic flourishes without rhythmic accompaniment, each crafted with originality and rendered with crystal-clear precision. Partha followed with a thumri–Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan's "yaad piya ki aaye" in raga Asaveri. This was the first time he had sung it on stage. Shahbaz Hussain, who comes from the same family as Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali, commented that he remembered the Ustad singing this cheez, and it was his great pleasure to perform with Partha and Kaushiki who are carrying on that great tradition of Patiala gayaki. Shahbaz, who trained under several great tabla players in the Delhi and Punjab baaz, including Ustad Allah Rakha, provided very good support. He had excellent rapport with the vocalists, and showed his wonderful dexterity and layakari, without breaking the continuity and melodic ambience of the vocal music. Kaushiki and Partha then rendered a bhajan, "kashta harana teri naam Ram ho," as a duet. Speaking to the audience, they revealed they had a hard time deciding what to sing, because they seldom sing together. Partha joked that he hoped they would not break into a fight on stage–but he had won that decision! Towards the end of the bhajan, Brajeswar Mukherjee, who accompanied on the harmonium, was persuaded to join in with his voice. He has been training under Pt. Ajoy Chakrabarty as well for ten years, and has a clear and velvety voice. The audience enjoyed the combination, and it was obvious the artists were relaxed and enjoying the performance as well. On audience request, the three sang another bhajan together, "mai to sanwar ke rang raachi," and a Bengali song of Ajoy Chakrabarty, "tumi shurey shurey ogo" to end the concert. Kakali Bandopadhyay, as emcee, introduced the artists and thanked the individuals who came together to arrange this concert at such short notice. |
Born in 1980 in the campus of Sangeet Research Academy, Kolkata, Kaushiki Chakrabarty is now a scholar of the academy. The gurus of the Academy and the members of its Expert Committe repose a great hope in Kaushiki and have blessed her for a glorious musical future. |
| By the grace of God, she could reproduce any musical and rhythmic phrase when she was only two years old. Kaushiki's mother, Chandna Chakrabarty was her first guru and very soon, Kaushiki became a " ganda-bandh" sagird (disciple) of her father's guru, Jnan Prakash Ghosh according to India's ancient system of guru-shishya parampara . On account of the old age of her guru and with his consent, she resumed her training under her father, Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty. She performed and was very well appreciated when she visited a number of places abroad in USA, Canada and Europe along with her father from 1987. In an interview with 'The Telegraph' in October 1996, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, the senior and legendary classical vocalist of India maintained, "Kaushiki Chakrabarty is one of the very few classical vocalists who will make a mark in the 21st century; she has really a very bright future if she practices hard to realize her great potentiality." As a debutante, Kaushiki has earned unqualified eclaim from maestros like Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, Ustad Asad Ali Khan, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Ustad Alla Rakha Khan, Ustad Zakir Hussain, Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma and Pandit Vijay Kumar Kichlu. These musical luminaries sincerely believe that Kaushiki with her promise and zeal will in the new millenium establish herself as one of the finest musicians if she persists in her unflinching riaz . Press comments on Kaushiki Chakrabarty: • "Teenage prodigy's dazzling recital -- Kaushiki Chakrabarty provided the curtain raiser to the three day 27th annual ITC Sangeet Sammelan at the India Habitat Centre, New Delhi. Her honeyed voice maintains a broad open 'aakar' giving no quarter to any kind of curb or repression without ever lessening its euphony or appeal." -- The Hindu (March 20, 1998) • "A voice is born -- like father like daughter Kaushiki Chakrabarty: Kaushiki's performance, however, put all the raised eyebrows back in their place. That she has been groomed rather well by her father, Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty and Sangeet Research Academy was beyond doubt what was also apparent was her undeniable talent. That with the choice of songs helped clinch the evening for her. Along with the rest of the audience, the 80-year old maestro Ustad Allah Rakha Khan spontaneously stood up to applaud her performance. What more can a 16-year old ask for?" -- Intian Express (March 5, 1998) • "Kaushiki Chakrabarty's depiction of raga Malkaus was the most enjoyable part of the night-long session...the young singer exce;s in style and form" -- The Telegraph (August 28, 1998) Awards and honors: • 1999: Memento from the Governor of West Bengal after her concert at the Governor House (Raj Bhavan) Kolkata on September 11, 1999. |
Khayal" by Kaushiki Chakrabarty
Kaushiki Chakrabarty at the age of 23, has scaled new heights in the world of music—She has bagged the BBC award of wold music 2005 for Asia – Pacific. Her natural charismatic voice with long years of training under her father has won for her this prestigious award. Let us see more about Kaushiki.
A prodigious daughter of Ajoy chakrabarty, a renowned vocalist , is making waves in the world of music. She is none other than Kaushiki Chakrabarty, a worthy daughter of a worthy Dad. Her mother is a singer too and Kaushiki could reproduce any musical note at the age of two.
Kaushikis formal training in music stared at the age of 7 under the legendry Jnan Prakash Hhosh. Later her music was fine-tuned by her father Ajoy chkakrabarty. She comes from a family of musicians, where the children learn the swaras before they learn the alphabets.
Shruti Nandan is a music school set up by Ajoy Chakrabarty in Calcutta and the place is eternally filled up with sweet sounds of sitar. How can Kaushiki be other than a classical singer?She has studied one of the oldest classical music Dhurupad, and her forte is Khayal the famous Hindustani style. She is at ease with Thumris, a very popular form, favourite of all music lovers. She is a fan of Asha Bhosle.
Her commitment to music is incomparable and sure many more laurels are lined up for her, which will make her parents and the nation proud.
Kaushiki Chakraborty
| Kaushiki Was boarn in the house of her illustrious parent Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty in the cultural capital Kolkata, India, Kaushiki was seen to reproduce any musical and rhythmic phrase even at her very tender age of two. Being an able teacher her mother Smt Chandana Chakrabarty took care of her taalim in vocal music as the first Guru. Subsequently Kaushiki had the rare fortune of being figured as the youngest GANDA-BANDH disciple (as per Gurukul norm) of all time great Guru Padmabhusan-Deshikottam Jnan Prakash Ghosh when she was ten. Later on, for falling ill intermittently the Great Guru asked Kaushiki to continue further training under the tutelage of his most successfull (in his words) disciple who is none other than her father Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty, the world-class celebrity artiste of Indian Classical vocal music. At present she is the only A-TOP grade scholar of the ITC-Sangeet Research Academy, Kolkata. Kaushikis academic career is also adorned with Star/Letter Marks in her school exams and First Class Honours in Philosophy in her graduation from the Calcutta University in 2002. As a young effective performer Kaushiki has earned accolades from almost all renowned maestros of our country. She was blessed with standing ovation at the end of her performance at the Habitat Centre Auditorium in Delhi, India by Ustad Alla Rakha Khan, Ustad Zakir Hussain, Ustad Asad Ali Khan, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan and Pandit Vijay Kumar Kichlu, the then Executive Director of Sangeet Research Academy of Kolkata for her live performance of Raga Kedar and Dadra in Mishra Khamaj. All these luminary musicians bestowed their unqualified eclat upon Kaushiki with the words that she will be one of the finest musicians in the new millennium if she persists in her unflinching riaz. In 1997 at Los Angeles, Kaushiki and her father Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty participated in the Parampara concert where they sared the same platform with Pandit Ravi Shankar - Anoushka and Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma - Rahul Sharma. Similar blessings have been bestowed on her by the legendary carnatic vocalist of India Pandmabibhusan Dr. M. Balamurali Krishnaji from whome she started learning the carnatic style of singing with its tala-laya system. Of late, kaushiki had the occasion to give a concert at the programme in celebration of 50 years musical life of Pandit Jasraj in Kolkata. Jasrajji was so moved that he prompted an announcement on the stage that he finds in Kaushiki the one who will keep the lamp burning as being the worthiest successor of the classical vocal music tradition of India after the veterans like him. "I am very happy to mention that Ajoy has trained his talented daughter Kaushiki Chakrabarty as a very promising next." "Kaushiki is extremely talented, intelligent and musical and has a very good approach towards life... I am very proud and delighted to see Kaushiki's dedication. She is already performing in many places in India and abroad and is earning the recognition she deserves early in life... I have no doubt that will be one of the topmost vocalists of India." |
| Geetinandan - Ajoy Chakrabarty & Kaushiki SN/CD/1001 | ||
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Geetinandan - Ajoy Chakrabarty & Kaushiki present Geetinandan: Dhamaar, Khyaal, Thumri and Bhajan. 50 Flowers of Devotion by Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty. The Book has extensive "Indian Notations" for music in Different Ragas plus compositions printed in Hindi, translations in English that are all referenced in the 2CD album sung by father and daughter, Kaushiki. Illustrated Ragas are as follows: Kafi, Puriya Kalyan, Shankara, Marwa, Todi, Mirabai Ki Malhar, Basant Mukhari, Bhairavi, Bilawal, Miyan Ki Malhar, Komal Asawari, Multani, Basant Bahar, Bhoopali, Bahar, Malkauns, Mishra Mirabai Ki Malhar, Jaijaiwanti, Hameer, Bhatiyar, Darbari, Shuddha Sarang, Piloo, Mishra Charukeshi, Nand, Jaunpuri, Bairagi, Durga, Bhairo, Gawoti, Shuddha Kalyan, Shyam Kalyan, Manj Khamaj, Madhuvanti, Bageshri, Puravi, Rageshri, Kalavati and Mishra Piloo. THIS IS DEFINITELY A CONNOISSEUR'S CHOICE FOR LEARNING AND ENJOYMENT. |
Kaushiki Chakrabarty
Kabhi Neem Neem Kabhi Shahad Shahad
Debate Mansion
