Dwaipayan Roy

Dwaipayan Ray has been learning the sarod for the last 15 years, first under the guidance of Shri Pranab Kr Naha and subsequently, under the tutelage of Pandit Buddhadev Dasgupta. He became a general class student of ITC SRA between 2002 and 2008 and has recently become a Junior Scholar of the Academy. He has to his credit, several medals and prizes and has received scholarships from the Centre of Cultural Research and Training (Ministry of Culture, Govt. of India) and Sangeet Piyasi. Dwaipayan has performed in numerous music conferences and has also recorded for All India Radio and Doordarshan (Kolkata and Hyderabad).

Mallar Rakshit

Born in 1986, Mallar Rakshit was initiated into classical music by his parents Shri Ratan Kumar Rakshit and Smt Tapati Rakshit. He later took talim in Sarod from Shri Supriya Banerjee, disciple of the renowned Vidushi Annapurna Devi. He joined ITC SRA as a general student in 2006 under sarod maestro Pandit Buddhadev Dasgupta and has recently become a scholar here. Mallar was awarded a National Scholarship from the Department of Culture, Govt. of India this year. He is currently completing his Bachelors degree from Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata.

Kasturi Bandopadhyay

Born in 1987, Kasturi Bandopadhyay is the daughter of tabla maestro Pandit Ananda Gopal Bandopadhyay of the Banaras gharana. Kasturi was initiated into music at the age of four by Pandit K G Ginde and later learnt from Vidushi Subhra Guha. She was later inducted as a General Class student of ITC SRA, taking talim in khayal under Pandit Arun Bhaduri. She now continues her training as a scholar of the academy. She also learns semi-classical forms from Vidushi Purnima Choudhuri. A prize-winnning participant of the Tara Music Channel competition on television, she received the National Scholarship in Thumri and Dadra in 2007 and in 2008, she was awarded the second prize in Thumri, Dadra in the All India Radio Music Competition.

Pampa Mukherjee

Guided by her mother, Pampa (Banerjee) Mukherjee started her musical training from the age of six and later learnt from Fazal Masi and Sanhita Mazumdar. She was a Scholar at ITC SRA from 2003, at first under Abdul Rashid Khan, the doyen of the Gwalior gharana and from December 2004 till September 1, 2005 under Shruti Sadolikar of the Jaipur gharana. An MA in Political Science, she has completed her B.Mus. from ‘Pracheen Kala Kendra’, Chandigarh and is a junior diploma holder from the ‘Prayag Sangeet Samiti’ in Allahabad. She has also won a National Scholarship (2002-2003). Pampa has won prizes at numerous competitions and is also a radio artiste. Pampa has resumed her training under Ustad Abdul Rashid Khan, as a scholar of the Academy, from October 2009.

Supratik Sengupta

Supratik Sengupta received his early training from his vocalist father and subsequently began formal training on the sitar. After receiving the National Talent Search Scholarship in 1994, he briefly trained under Sangeetacharya Ajoy Sinha Roy and later was a student of Pradeep Chakrabarty, a disciple of Pandit Ravi Shankar. Supratik was selected for the National Scholarship by the Ministry of Tourism and Culture, Government of India and has stood first in various music competitions, including that of the Ravi Kichlu Foundation. He has been with ITC-SRA from 2002 and is currently a scholar here under the sarod maestro, Buddhadev Das Gupta. Supratik has recently become a Musician Scholar at the Academy.

Jyoti Goho

Inspired by his mother’s melodious voice, Jyoti Goho developed a keen interest in music, which was carefully nurtured by his parents. He was trained in harmonium playing by Shri Deb Kumar Banerjee. He also has profound knowledge of vocal music in which his mentors were Sanat Banerjee, Biren Bose and Pandit A. Kanan. He is thus able to heighten the mood and spirit of any performance. Known for his sensitive playing and appropriate embellishments, his supportive role has been acknowledged by maestros like Pandit Bhimsen Joshi. Shri Jyoti Goho has performed with all the great vocalists of Hindustani classical music, appearing at the major music conferences in India and abroad. He is currently a faculty member of the ITC Sangeet Research Academy.

Sandip Ray Chaudhuri

Sandip Ray Chaudhuri hails from a family of musicians and was initiated into tabla by his father, late Abani Ray Chaudhuri. He received further guidance from his uncle, Shri Anil Ray Chaudhuri, Professor of tabla, Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata. He has also learned from Shri Manik Pal, Shri Radhakanta Nandy and Shri Debnath Chakrabarty. A Sangit Prabhakar gold medalist, he is quite adept at accompanying both classical and commercial artistes and has played with stalwarts of both the worlds with equal ease. A 'B-High' graded artiste of All India Radio and Doordarshan, he is currently a staff musician at the ITC Sangeet Research Academy.

Samar Saha

For years now, Pandit Samar Saha has been widely known for his dexterous tabla playing and rare musicianship. With a brilliant sense of accompaniment he contributes immensely to any raag sangeet performance. Samar Saha was initially trained by his father Shri Sudhangshu Bhusan Saha and elder brother Shri Tarak Saha. Later he received extensive talim from Shri Satchidananda Goswami and Shri Krishna Kumar Ganguly (Natu Babu) of the Benaras gharana. A much sought-after artist today, he has played with the greatest stalwarts of Hindustani music and has participated in all the prestigious music festivals in India and overseas. Pandit Samar Saha is a faculty member of ITC-SRA..

Sarwar Hussain

Sarwar Hussain is one of the most accomplished and promising musicians of the younger generation of Sarangi exponents in India. He was born on 5th October 1981, at Gohad district near Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh his musical heritage comes from a long line of distinguished Sarangi exponents from Gohad.

His ancestry can be traced back six generations to Ustad Fazal Khan, father of Ustad Ghansi Khan, famous for his mastery of the intricate Tappa Style. Ustad Ghansi Khan taught his sons who included Ustad Chhuttu Khan, Ustad Garru Khan and Ustad Uday Khan, who were the father and paternal uncles and gurus of Padmashree Ustad Abdul Latif Khan, Sarwar’s eminent grandfather and guru.

Sarwar’s father, Anwar Hussain is also a well-known musician. Sarwar began learning Sarangi from his grandfather when he was nine. The superb ‘taleem’ that he received for eleven years is clearly reflected in his playing style. His playing embodies the intricate delicacy of his grandfather’s style as well as the techniques which his grandfather learned from one of the most famous Sarangi exponents of the first half of the last century, Ustad Bade Ghulam Sabir Khan Ambala Wale.

An A grade artist of All India Radio and Doordarshan, Sarwar has received many awards for his outstanding performance.