BSUM hosts 1st national Navodit Kalakar Sammelan
The first Navodit Kalakar Sammelan was held in Kolkata on January 11, 2009 at Uttam Mancha. Organized by Bhattacharya's School of Universal Music (BSUM) this national concert comprised talents from different fields of music and dance.
The programme featured Somranjan Chakrabarty (Chaturangui,Kolkata), Pundalik Krishna Bhagvat (Tabla solo, Benares), Alaknanda Palnitkar (Vocal, Indore) and Arushi Mudgal (Odissi, New Delhi).
Slated to be an annual feature BSUM's Navodit Kalakar Sammelan is a new hope in these difficult times when some traditional national level concerts have either been cancelled or trimmed due to economic stringency. Navodit Kalakar Sammelan featured performances of upcoming talents from different parts of the country. After successful concerts at various other places in the country and some also abroad, the artists performed solo for the first time in Kolkata.
With Trinity of Guitars virtuoso Pt. Debashish Bhattacharya ideating this cultural soiree of Chaturangui (Guitar), Tabla, Vocal and Odissi dance the concert aims at bringing out talents from a national perspective of traditional music and dance. "As regards new talents the concerts of Kolkata have lost their flavours of national 'conferences' of yesteryears and are too much localized thereby disallowing young students and artists of Kolkata to know what young artists are doing in other parts of the country. This is a serious issue that we at BSUM are trying to address for Kolkata's young generation"- says Pandit Debashish Bhattacharya who's been nominated for Grammy in the best traditional music album category. "It takes forty years or more for some to show signs of artistry and for these artists too Navodit Kalakar Sammelan will provide a platform. We seriously need to change perceptions of art and artistry or else our traditional culture will be decadent soon"- adds the Indian guitar virtuoso.
When instrument makers are turning carpenters (to cash in real estate market) facing stiff competitions with infiltrating cheap Chinese instruments in the Indian market, a few are struggling to sustain. One among them is Kolkata's veteran instrument craftsman Hrishikesh Biswas, guitar maker for Trideb International Guitar (TIG), who was felicitated at the Navodit Kalakar Sammelan for more than five decades of dedication to traditional guitar making and making Pt. Debashish Bhattacharya's designed and patented TIG's Trinity of Guitars- Chaturangui, Gandharvi and Anandi. Prashanto Mondal, another fine tuning craftsman was also felicitated.
Bhattacharya's School of Universal Music is a non-profit organisation aimed at preserving and fostering the classical arts tradition of India.
Few exclusive photographs of 1st national Navodit Kalakar Sammelan
