Sitar Recital By Debu & Prateek Chaudhuri: Events in Hyderabad

REVIEW FOR SITAR RECITAL BY DEBU...

ITC Limited, in association with the ITC Sangeet Research Academy, is organising the annual ITC Sangeet Sammelan as a tribute to the legendary Hindustani vocalist late Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, on 2nd and 3rd November, at the Ravindra Bharathi. Some of the country's best musicians, such as vocalist Vijaya Jadhav Gatlewar, and sitarists Debu & Prateek Chaudhuri, will perform on the first day, and vocalist Ulhas Kashalkar, and Mohan Veena specialists Vishwa Mohan Bhatt and Salil Bhatt, will peform on the second day.

Tonite, renowned sitarist Padmabhushan Debu Chaudhuri and his son Prateek Chaudhuri will be performing, with Vijay Ghate on the tabla. Debu (Pandit Devabrata Chaudhuri) is today the foremost exponent of the Senia gharana, having trained for a fruitful 38 years under Sangeet Acharya Ustad Mushtaq Ali Khan, Sitar Sudhakar of the Senia gharana. Debu had initially trained under the late Panchu Gopal Datta.

He has been conferred upon the prestigious Padma Bhushan, one of India's highest civilian honors, given by the President of India, and the coveted Sangeet Natak Award for his invaluable contribution in the field of Indian classical music.

Prateek Chaudhuri, a brilliant performer, is acclaimed as one of the most outstanding sitar players of the country today amongst the present generation. His sitar sparkles with the rare combination of virtuosity, technical finesse and a deep sense of aesthetics.

Born in New Delhi, he has been groomed in a musical atmosphere since his birth under his father. He also had the great fortune to learn from his Dadaguru (father's guru), Ustad Mushtaq Ali Khan Saheb, the great legend of the Senia tradition, which has been named after Mian Tansen, the doyen of Indian classical music.

Prateek was the automatic successor to this rare Senia tradition of Indian classical music, and is unique in playing the sitar not only with the traditional and rare 17 frets (instead of 19, 20 or 21 frets, found at present), but also with a unique string arrangement of its own.

Amongst his numerous achievements, Prateek has been ranked as an A-Class artiste by the National Television and Radio of the Govt. of India. He has been awarded the Pandit Nikhil Bannerjee Award from Lucknow, the Best Instrumentalist Award from Delhi and the Surmani Award from Mumbai, amongst many other awards and recognitions.

In creating ITC-SRA in 1977, ITC's farsighted endeavor was to establish a modern Gurukul, and revive the traditional Guru-Sishya Parampara. It has played a major role in reviving and nurturing India's rich heritage of Hindustani classical music by organising concerts worldwide and undertaking research work.

Please contact N P Raju of ITC Limited at 2780-4025/2780-2293/98494-92050 for invitations and further details.