Chandidas Mal (7 October 1929 – 8 December 2021) was an Indian musician perhaps best known for his rendition of Puratani Bangla Gaan (Bengali Sons of Olden times),

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 ...

, Shyamasangeet (Devotional Songs for Goddess

Kali Kali (; sa, काली, ), also referred to as Mahakali, Bhadrakali, and Kalika ( sa, कालिका), is a Hinduism, Hindu goddess who is considered to be the goddess of ultimate power, time, destruction and change in Shaktism. In t ...

) and Agamani (Devotional Songs for Goddess

Durga Durga ( sa, दुर्गा, ) is a major Hindu goddess, worshipped as a principal aspect of the mother goddess Mahadevi. She is associated with protection, strength, motherhood, destruction, and wars. Durga's legend centres around co ...

Biography

Mal was born in

Bally Bally may refer to: Places *Bally, a historical spelling of Bali *Bally (from the Irish ''baile'') or townland, a traditional division of land, as well as a common prefix in the names of settlements throughout Ireland *Bally, Bally-Jagachha, a c ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

. He was the eldest among four children of Narayan Chandra Mal and Ushangini Mal. He started his music lessons at the age of 3 from his father, at the age of 6 his musical talent was recognized when he got 1st Prize in a conference at All Bengal Music Association. He took his music lessons from a number of eminent musicians namely Kishori Mohan Sinha (

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 perfor ...

), Ramchandra Guha (

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, dra ...

Krishna Chandra Dey Krishna Chandra Dey (24 August 1893 – 28 November 1962), better known as K.C. Dey, was an Indian music director, music composer, musician, singer, actor, and music teacher born in Calcutta (now Kolkata). He was S.D. Burman's first musical te ...

(

Drupad Dhrupad is a genre in Hindustani classical music from the Indian subcontinent. It is the oldest known style of major vocal styles associated with Hindustani classical music, Haveli Sangeet of Pushtimarg Sampraday and also related to the South Ind ...

, Dhamar), Gyan Prakash Ghosh (

Bhajan Bhajan refers to any devotional song with a religious theme or spiritual ideas, specifically among Indian religions, in any language. The term bhajanam (Sanskrit: भजनम्) means ''reverence'' and originates from the root word ''bhaj'' ...

), Shailaja Ranjan Majumdar ( Rabindasangeet), Durga Sen (Geet,

Ghazal The ''ghazal'' ( ar, غَزَل, bn, গজল, Hindi-Urdu: /, fa, غزل, az, qəzəl, tr, gazel, tm, gazal, uz, gʻazal, gu, ગઝલ) is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry. A ghazal may be understood as a ...

), and legendary

singer Kalipada Pathak. He had been a regular in

All India Radio All or ALL may refer to: Language * All, an indefinite pronoun in English * All, one of the English determiners * Allar language (ISO 639-3 code) * Allative case (abbreviated ALL) Music * All (band), an American punk rock band * ''All'' (All a ...

since 1944. He was a regular in

Doordarshan Doordarshan (abbreviated as DD; Hindi: , ) is an Indian public service broadcaster founded by the Government of India, owned by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and one of Prasar Bharati's two divisions. One of India's largest bro ...

and other TV channels as well. His records have come in HMV and other music companies. He also did playback singing in some movies. He has also performed at various concerts. He has been associated with many institutions including

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. ...

Visva Bharati University Visva-Bharati () is a public central university and an Institution of National Importance located in Shantiniketan, West Bengal, India. It was founded by Rabindranath Tagore who called it ''Visva-Bharati'', which means the communion of the w ...

Bengal Music College The Bengal Music College (BMC) is a music training college in Kolkata, India, established in 1940 by Nanigopal Bandopadhyay, the college is affiliated with the University of Calcutta since 1956. It offers intermediate, undergraduate (honours ...

, etc. He had been instrumental in promoting Tappa and Puratani in post graduate syllabus. His style of singing ( Gayaki) was very original. West Bengal State Sangeet Academy recorded 100 Tappa & Puratani Bengali songs in his voice for their archives in order to restore the golden glimpses of his original style and keep the originality of Tappa & Puratani Bengali songs and make them public. West Bengal State Academy of Dance Drama Music and Visual Arts felicitated with Academy award for his outstanding contribution. He also received “Vibhakar” award from Bangiya Sangeet Parishad. His notable disciples include

Ajoy Chakrabarty Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty (born 25 December 1952) is an Hindustani classical vocalist, composer, lyricist and an exponent of the Patiala-Kasur gharana. He was given Padma Bhushan Award, the third highest civilian award in India in 2020. Early li ...

(Hindustani classical vocalist), Dr. Utpala Goswami (Ex-Dean Rabindra Bharati University),

Buddhadeb Guha Buddhadeb Guha (29 June 1936 – 29 August 2021) was an Indian writer of fiction in Bengali language. Apart from writing, he was a trained singer and a painter too. Career Born in Calcutta, Guha studied at St. Xavier's College of the Universi ...

(author), Debasri Mitra (US based singer), etc. Mal was married to Namita, the sister of sculptor Sarbari Roy Chowdhury, and had a son, Debajyoti. He died on 8 December 2021, at the age of 92 in his home in Bally. He was survived by his wife Namita, Son Debajyoti, Daughter-in-Law Vandana and Granddaughter Aaryaka.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mal, Chandidas 1929 births 2021 deaths All India Radio Doordarshan Indian male musicians Academic staff of the University of Calcutta People from Howrah district Singers from West Bengal