Kalyan Kumar Mukherjea (1943–2010) was an authority on Indian classical music, particularly the
Senia Shahjahanpur
Shahjahanpur () is a municipal corporation, town and district headquarters of Shahjahanpur District in Uttar Pradesh, India.
The city is between Bareilly and Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh.
History
Shahjahanpur was established by Dil ...
Gharana
In Hindustani music (North Indian classical music), a ''gharānā'' is a system of social organisation in the Indian subcontinent, linking musicians or dancers by lineage or apprenticeship, and more importantly by adherence to a particular mus ...
(school) of
Sarod
The sarod is a stringed instrument, used in Hindustani music on the Indian subcontinent. Along with the sitar, it is among the most popular and prominent instruments. It is known for a deep, weighty, introspective sound, in contrast with the sweet ...
. He was also a mathematician.
Early life
Mukherjea was born in Calcutta in 1943. His father, A K Mukherjea, was a barrister who rose to become a judge of the
Supreme Court of India
The Supreme Court of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme judicial authority of India and is the highest court of the Republic of India under the constitution. It is the most senior constitutional court, has the final decision in all legal matters ...
.
Justice Mukherjea was also a scholar of Indian philosophy, and had made significant contributions to
Navya-Nyāya
The Navya-Nyāya or Neo-Logical ''darśana'' (view, system, or school) of Indian logic and Indian philosophy was founded in the 13th century CE by the philosopher Gangeśa Upādhyāya of Mithila and continued by Raghunatha Siromani of Nabadwip ...
literature.
[
] Kalyan thus grew up in a milieu that placed considerable significance on erudition and culture.
Justice Mukherjea's close friends included musicians like the sarod maestro
Radhika Mohan Maitra
Radhika Mohan Maitra (1917–1981) was an Indian sarod player and the guru of Narendra Nath Dhar, Kalyan Mukherjea, Buddhadev Das Gupta, Sanjoy Bandopadhyay, Abanindra Maitra, Pranab Kumar Naha, Samarendra Nath Sikdar, Michael Robbins, and many ...
. Young Kalyan began training under Maitra in 1956. He also studied with the sitarist, vocalist and composer, D T Joshi.
Mukherjea's musical education continued uninterrupted throughout his performing career, but there were periods during which he was not under the direct tutelage of a master (1962–1965 and 1967–1976). These years spent in relative isolation from the Indian music scene, Mukherjea believes, contributed as much to his growth as a musician as did his formal training. Mukherjea has had a unique experience, doubling as a mathematician and an uncompromising classicist on the
sarod
The sarod is a stringed instrument, used in Hindustani music on the Indian subcontinent. Along with the sitar, it is among the most popular and prominent instruments. It is known for a deep, weighty, introspective sound, in contrast with the sweet ...
.
As a mathematician
Mukherjea obtained his undergraduate degree from
Cambridge University
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
, followed by a doctorate in mathematics from
Cornell
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
. In 1968, he joined the mathematics faculty of
UCLA
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...
. He remained at UCLA until 1976, when he returned to India to take up a professorship at the
Indian Statistical Institute
Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) is a higher education and research institute which is recognized as an Institute of National Importance by the 1959 act of the Indian parliament. It grew out of the Statistical Laboratory set up by Prasanta C ...
s in Delhi and Calcutta.
His research interests primarily concerned
topology
In mathematics, topology (from the Greek language, Greek words , and ) is concerned with the properties of a mathematical object, geometric object that are preserved under Continuous function, continuous Deformation theory, deformations, such ...
. He had to his credit authoritative publications in Fredholm manifolds
[
] and
coincidence theory.
[
] In collaboration with his erstwhile research student
Rajendra Bhatia
Rajendra Bhatia (born 1952) is an Indian mathematician, author, and educator. He is currently a professor of mathematics at Ashoka University located in Sonipat, Haryana ,India.
Education
He studied at the University of Delhi, where he compl ...
, he had also contributed to
matrix analysis In mathematics, particularly in linear algebra and applications, matrix analysis is the study of matrices and their algebraic properties. Some particular topics out of many include; operations defined on matrices (such as matrix addition, matrix mul ...
.
His work had spawned a significant body of further research, by his erstwhile students as well as colleagues and contemporaries.
[
] He had also mentored several significant contributors to the field, including
Rajendra Bhatia
Rajendra Bhatia (born 1952) is an Indian mathematician, author, and educator. He is currently a professor of mathematics at Ashoka University located in Sonipat, Haryana ,India.
Education
He studied at the University of Delhi, where he compl ...
and
Mahan Mitra
Mahan Mj (born Mahan Mitra (Bengali: মহান মিত্র), 5 April 1968), also known as Mahan Maharaj and Swami Vidyanathananda, is an Indian mathematician and monk of the Ramakrishna Order. He is currently Professor of Mathematics at ...
.
As a musician
While at UCLA, Mukherjea served as an instructor of Hindustani instrumental music in the newly formed
ethnomusicology
Ethnomusicology is the study of music from the cultural and social aspects of the people who make it. It encompasses distinct theoretical and methodical approaches that emphasize cultural, social, material, cognitive, biological, and other dim ...
department, and collaborated closely with
Nazir Jairazbhoy Nazir Ali Jairazbhoy ( hi, नज़ीर अली जैराज़भाई; October 31, 1927 – June 20, 2009) was a professor of folk and classical music of South Asia at the University of California at Los Angeles, where he was the founding ...
in the early days of the program. His students include Peter Manuel, Professor of Music at
Hunter College
Hunter College is a public university in New York City. It is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York and offers studies in more than one hundred undergraduate and postgraduate fields across five schools. It also admi ...
,
CUNY
, mottoeng = The education of free people is the hope of Mankind
, budget = $3.6 billion
, established =
, type = Public university system
, chancellor = Fél ...
, who has acknowledged his debt to Mukherjea in several publications.
[
][
]
Mukherjea performances have been limited. His 25-year span as a performing artist saw him play about fifty concerts in all. It was entirely by chance that he encountered Lyle Wachovsky of India Archive Music, New York, who gave his music a global audience by publishing a full-length CD of Ragas
Shuddha Kalyan Suddha can refer to:
* ''Suddha'' (film), a 2005 Indian film
*Śuddha, a Sanskrit term referring to purity in Buddhism
Purity (Pali: ''Vissudhi'') is an important concept within much of Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism, although the implications ...
and
Shukla Bilawal
Shukla ( sa, शुक्ल) is a word of Sanskrit origin that means "bright" or "white". Similar to what goes for Shukla Paksha (शुक्लपक्ष) bright moonlight during waxing phase. Today it is a surname used by Brahmins in North In ...
. Additionally, from 1983 to 1990, Mukherjea was a regular broadcaster on All India Radio, Delhi.
Mukherjea's music is rooted in tradition but does not rigidly adhere to convention. His approach values logic and aesthetic sensitivity above other considerations. A good example of this is his approach to interpreting the controversial Raga Shuddha Kalyan, which finds mention in an article by Deepak Raja on the issue.
Death
Mukherjea died on 31 March 2010, after suffering a heart attack a few weeks before.
Publications
Journal articles: mathematics
Books: mathematics
1. Mukherjea, Kalyan:''Differential Calculus In Normed Linear Spaces'', American Mathematical Society, 2003 (, Hardcover)
Writings: music
Radhika Mohan Maitra – His Life and Times
Discography: music
Raga Shuddha Kalyan, India Archive Music, 2003
Legacy
In 2010, The National Law School of India University named the Best Speaker trophy at the National Law School Debate, South Asia's largest Asians Parliamentary debate, after him.
References
External links
*
ttps://web.archive.org/web/20110723211032/http://kavitachhibber.mmaweb.net/main/main.jsp?id=arts-May2007 Deepak Raja:''Raga Shuddha Kalyan: How and why it is changing''
An All India Radio Recording (1984)
Raga Jaunpuri
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mukherjea, Kalyan
1943 births
2010 deaths
Bengali musicians
Hindustani instrumentalists
Musicians from Kolkata
Sarod players
Indian male classical musicians
Alumni of the University of Cambridge
Cornell University faculty
20th-century Indian mathematicians
Indian topologists
Indian Statistical Institute faculty
20th-century Indian musicians
20th-century Indian male classical singers
Indian classical musicians of Bengal
Bengali mathematicians
Scientists from Kolkata