Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty (born 25 December 1952) is an

Hindustani classical Hindustani classical music is the classical music of northern regions of the Indian subcontinent. It may also be called North Indian classical music or, in Hindustani, ''shastriya sangeet'' (). It is played in instruments like the violin, sita ...

vocalist Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

, composer, lyricist and an exponent of the Patiala-Kasur gharana. He was given

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...

Award, the third highest civilian award in India in 2020.

Early life

Ajoy Chakrabarty was born in Kolkata,

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...

. He was raised with his brother in

Shyamnagar Shyamnagar ( bn, শ্যামনগর ) is an upazila of Satkhira District in the Division of Khulna, Bangladesh. It is the biggest upazila of Bangladesh. It is close to the Sundarbans. Geography Shyamnagar is located at . It has 46,592 ...

. His younger brother, Sanjay Chakrabarty, is a lyricist and composer. He graduated top of his class in music, both in B.A and M.A. from the

Rabindra Bharati University Rabindra Bharati University is a public research university in Kolkata, India. It was founded on May 8, 1962, under the Rabindra Bharati Act of the Government of West Bengal in 1961, to mark the birth centenary of the poet Rabindranath Tagore. ...

in Kolkata and joined the

ITC Sangeet Research Academy ITC Sangeet Research Academy is a Hindustani classical music academy run by the corporate house, ITC Ltd. It is located in Kolkata, India. Noted musicians associated with the academy include Ulhas Kashalkar, Falguni Mitra, Ajoy Chakrabarty, U ...

in 1978 as its first scholar. Today he is one of the youngest gurus of this academy. His father, Ajit Chakrabarty, was his first Guru. He then studied with Pannalal Samanta, Kanaidas Bairagi and Jnan Prakash Ghosh. Besides that, he had learnt from Latafat Hussain Khan, Nibruttibua Sarnaik, Hirabai Barodekar and in Carnatic styles from M. Balamuralikrishna, that kept enriching his musical expression and repertoire. Despite having such pure classical "taleem" in the

Khyal Khyal or Khayal (ख़याल / خیال) is a major form of Hindustani classical music in the Indian subcontinent. Its name comes from a Persian/Arabic word meaning "imagination". Khyal is associated with romantic poetry, and allows the perfo ...

genre, he also renders lighter forms such as

Thumri Thumri () is a vocal genre or style of Indian music. The term "thumri" is derived from the Hindi verb ''thumuknaa'', which means "to walk with a dancing gait in such a way that the ankle-bells tinkle." The form is, thus, connected with dance, dr ...

Tappa Tappa is a form of Indian semi-classical vocal music. Its specialty is a rolling pace based on fast, subtle and knotty construction. Its tunes are melodious and sweet, and depict the emotional outbursts of a lover. Tappe (plural) were sung mostly by ...

, Bhajan, Kirtan,

Folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fo ...

, Film/Non-Film and modern songs, in several different languages. He has received several prestigious awards including the Padma Shri (2011), Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (Delhi, 1999–2000), Kumar Gandharva National Award (1993) and the Best Male Playback Singer Award (Bengali Film "Chhandaneer" 1990) ("For bringing the rare depth of emotion, adorned by his command on the classical idiom") and National Tansen Samman 2015 - by the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh. He has also received felicitations from both the former and present Chief Ministers of his own State,

. In 2012, Chief Minister of West Bengal,

Mamata Banerjee Mamata Banerjee (; born 5 January 1955) is an Indian politician who is serving as the eighth and current List of chief ministers of West Bengal, chief minister of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of West Bengal since 20 ...

conferred him the Maha Sangeet Samman and the

Banga Bibhushan Banga Bibhushan Samman ( bn, বঙ্গবিভূষণ) is a title instituted by the West Bengal government to honour the services of personalities in various fields. The Banga Ratna Samman and the Banga Bhushan Samman ("Bengal ornament" ব� ...

, two of the State's highest awards. In 2015 he has received Guru Jnan Prakash Ghosh Lifetime Achievement Award. He also was awarded honorary citizenship in New Orleans, after performing with jazz musicians at Preservation Hall, the birthplace of jazz music.

Singing career

He has been invited to perform in

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

and China and by BBC for their Golden Jubilee Celebration of India's Independence. He has performed in some of the most prestigious venues around the world such as Carnegie Hall,

The Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...

, New Orleans Jazz Preservation Hall in the US, the Royal Albert hall and Queen Elizabeth Hall in the UK and Theatre de la Ville in France. In addition to that, Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty performed at the

Aga Khan Museum The Aga Khan Museum (french: Musée Aga Khan) is a museum of Islamic art, Iranian (Persian) art and Muslim culture located at 77 Wynford Drive in the North York district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The museum is dedicated to Islamic art and ob ...

in Toronto, Canada in 2018 for the Raag-Mala Music Society of Toronto. Inspired by the ideals of his Guru Jnan Prakash Ghosh, Chakrabarty founded Shrutinandan, a school of music.

Personal life

Chakrabarty is married to Chandana Chakraborty. His daughter,

Kaushiki Chakraborty Kaushiki Chakraborty (born 24 October 1980) is an Indian classical vocalist and a composer She attended Sangeet Research Academy, and was one of the exponents of Patiala gharana. Her repertoire covers pure classical, ''Khyals, Dadras, Thumr ...

, is also a vocalist of

Hindustani classical music Hindustani classical music is the classical music of northern regions of the Indian subcontinent. It may also be called North Indian classical music or, in Hindustani, ''shastriya sangeet'' (). It is played in instruments like the violin, si ...

. Their son, Ananjan Chakraborty, is a sound engineer.

Films

Awards

National Award The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directorate ...

– 1989 *Kumar Gandharva Award – 1993 * Sangeet Natak Akademi award – 2000 * Padmashree – 2011 *

– 2012 * Alva's Virasat Award – 2012 *Pandit Omkarnath Thakur Shastriya Sangeet Award - 2014 - 2015 *

2020

References

External links

Ajoy Chakrabarty Official WebsiteAjoy Chakrabarty Biography and discussion forum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chakrabarty, Ajoy 1952 births Hindustani singers Living people Rabindra Bharati University alumni Thumri Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts 20th-century Indian singers Singers from West Bengal Indian male playback singers 21st-century Indian singers Best Male Playback Singer National Film Award winners Indian classical musicians of Bengal Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in arts Bengali Hindus 20th-century Khyal singers 20th-century Indian male singers 21st-century Indian male singers