Anjan Chattopadhyay

Anjan Chattopadhyay, Sitar Maestro was born in 1960 in a Bengali aristocratic family in Calcutta, India. He was brought up in an environment of soft, sweet and serene Indian Classical Music.He was initiated to the art of sitar playing by his elder brother, a veteran surbahar player, Pandit Gourisankar Chattopadhyay, a disciple of Pandit Birendra Kishore Roy Chowdhury. In addition to that he started taking his futther training from Surasree Kalyani Roy, a global reputed sitarist and one of the senior disciples of Ustad Vilayat Khan.He also had his lessons on the vocal music from late Shree Muktipada Datta, a representative of Kirana Gharana. Anjan also had his fortune of having the training of the wellknown Tabla player late Ustad Shaukat Ali Khan of Farukhabad gharana. Anjan lives in Calcutta and he is the founder of " Sitar School Of Music " in Calcutta. His wife Rama Chattopadhyay is a teacher of Philosophy as well as a Bengali Singer.

Performance

Anjan has performed in hundreds of concerts in India and abroad. Among them worthy of mentions are his concerts in India :

• The Dover Lane Music Conference,
• India International Center,
• All India Music Festival,
• Salt Lake Music Conference,
• National Council of Performing Arts,
• West Bangal Government State Music Academy,
• Tansen Music Conference,
• Indian Council For Cultural Relations,
• Alliance Francaise,
• Ustad Bahadur Khan Music Conference,
• Sursagar Society,
• Bhartiya Sanskriti Parishad, Nagpur
• Jhankar Music Circle,
• Swami Haridas Music Conference,
• Shree Aurobindo Ashram. Calcutta,
• Ustad Amir Khan Music Conference. Calcutta,
• Swar Sadhna Samiti. Mumbai,
• Sur Singer Samsad. Mumbai,
• Pandit Montu Banerjee memorial music conference,
• Sankalp Music Festival. Sagar, M.P.
• Guru Poornima Festival, Patna, Etc.

Awards, Honors

In his musical career, Anjan has got numerous awards, and felicitations. The chronology of awards are as follows:

1. In 1986, he was awarded the prestigious first prize in All India Music Competition organized by the State Music Academy of West Bengal Government.
2. In 1987, he was felicitated with the prestigious title ‘SURMANI’ after performing at Kal-Ke-Kalakar music festival in Mumbai.
3. In 1988, he was awarded with the title ‘Sangeet Visharad’ by Pracheen Kalakendra, Chandigarh. In the same year he got ‘Sangeet Kriya Visharad’ title from Sourav Academy Board. On this occasion, the renowned violinist Pandit V.G.Jog felicitated him after his concert.
4. In 1990, during his tour to U.S.A, the Academy of Indian Music and Fine Arts and University of Maryland Baltimore County felicitated him with the certificate of Achievement.
5. In that year he got the rare opportunity to be honored with the GOVERNOR’S CITATION from the Honorable Governor of New Jersey – Mr James Florio.
6. In 1994, Padmabhushan Pandit Jnanprakash Ghosh, one of the music legends of India, proclaimed Anjan as ‘one of the most talented young sitar players of India”.
7. Swar-Sadhna Samity of Mumbai and Rotary Club of Lake Green Kolkata, honored him after an enthralling performance of him.
8. In 2004, Anjan has got the prestigious ‘GOVERNOR’S CITATION’ from Mr.Robert.E.Ehrlich, the honourable Governor of the State of Maryland after performing his sitar recital in presence of the honourable Senator Mr Paul Sarbanes.
9. In 2005, Anjan has been awarded with 'Swami Haridas Samman' award given by Surabithi College of Music, Calcutta.

Discs

1 Indian Classical Music Sitar :::: EBI India

2 Moods :::: Octave Music India

3 Sunset :::: Aim Records

4 Monsoon Raga :::: Aimrec

See also

Pandit Ravi Shankar

Ustad Vilayat Khan

Source

• Sankarlal Bhattacharjee, Writer and Journalist, ABP Group, Kolkata, India.
• Anjan Chattopadhyay Official Website
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