Ashutosh Bhattacharya
Born(1917-03-17)17 March 1917
Benares, Benares State, British India
Died8 February 2004(2004-02-08) (aged 86)
Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India
GenresHindustani classical music
Occupation(s)instrumentalist, music educator
Instrument(s)Tabla

Ashutosh Bhattacharya (17 March 1917 – 8 February 2004) was a noted Indian classical musician of Hindustani classical music from Varanasi, who was Tabla player and music educator, besides a practicing Ayurvedic doctor.

In 1966, he was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship the highest honour conferred by Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy for Music, Dance and Drama.[1]

Early life and background

Born in a Bengali family in Varanasi (Benaras), Uttar Pradesh,[2] Bhattacharya grew up in the family of Ayurvedic doctors, where both his father and grandfather practiced Ayurvedic medicine. However, at a young age he showed musical inclination and at age 8 started learning pakhawaj from Pandit Ram Nath Mishra.[3] After a few years of training, he switched to learning tabla from Pandit Kanthe Maharaj, noted tabla player of the Benares gharana, and uncle of Kishan Maharaj.[4][5]

Career

He started performing at the age of 21, when in 1937, he accompanied sarod maestro Allauddin Khan at the music concert in Allahabad.[6] In the coming years, he accompanied leading musicians like, Pt. Ravi Shankar,[7] Ustad Ali Akbar Khan and Ustad Vilayat Khan.[3]

Besides his musical career, he also practiced Ayurvedic medicine at his clinic in Varanasi, and taught students.[3] He died on 9 February 2004 in Varanasi, after a brief illness, at the age of 86. His son, Debabrata Bhattacharya, is a tabla player.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "SNA: List of Sangeet Natak Akademi Ratna Puraskarwinners (Akademi Fellows)". SNA Official website. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
  2. ↑ Ram Dular Singh (1986). Bengal and Varanasi: a study of cultural synthesis & national integration : Bengal's contribution to Varanasi. Bibliographical Society of India. p. x.
  3. 1 2 3 "Pandit Kaviraj Ashutosh Bhattacharya". Retrieved 24 July 2013.
  4. ↑ "Biography of Kanthe Maharaj". varanasi.org. 26 September 2012. Retrieved 24 July 2013.
  5. ↑ Susheela Misra (1990). Some immortals of Hindustani music. Harman Pub. House. p. 127. ISBN 978-81-85151-14-4.
  6. ↑ Jotin Bhattacharya (1979). Ustad Allauddin Khan and His Music. B. S. Shah Prakashan. p. 58.
  7. ↑ "the genius of Pandit Ravi Shankar". India Today. 12 December 2012. Retrieved 24 July 2013.

Bibliography

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