Rathin Kisku ( Santhali : ᱨᱚᱛᱷᱤᱱ ᱠᱤᱥᱠᱩ) is an Indian singer. His style of music is between

Baul The Baul ( bn, বাউল) are a group of mystic minstrels of mixed elements of Sufism, Vaishnavism and Tantra from Bangladesh and the neighboring Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura and Assam's Barak Valley and Meghalaya. Bauls constitut ...

and traditional

Santal The Santal or Santhal are an Austroasiatic speaking Munda ethnic group in South Asia. Santals are the largest tribe in the Jharkhand and West Bengal state of India in terms of population and are also found in the states of Odisha, Bihar and A ...

music, which earned him the nickname "''adivasi Baul"''.

Life and work

Kisku was born in a

family in a small village near

Santiniketan Santiniketan is a neighbourhood of Bolpur town in the Bolpur subdivision of Birbhum district in West Bengal, India, approximately 152 km north of Kolkata. It was established by Maharshi Devendranath Tagore, and later expanded by his son ...

. The area is influenced by

Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resh ...

, who lived in Santiniketan. His former home is now a museum and attraction for tourists. Santinitekan is also considered one of the centers of Baul. During his school years, Kisku frequently participated in local cultural events. He dropped out of school without a degree, but was able to get vocal training in classical Hindustani. Kisku eventually pursued graduation from school. Kisku published his first CD in 2007 at the

Goethe-Institut The Goethe-Institut (, GI, en, Goethe Institute) is a non-profit German cultural association operational worldwide with 159 institutes, promoting the study of the German language abroad and encouraging international cultural exchange and ...

in Calcutta. Previously, he was the lead singer on the ''Ghosaldanga Bishnubati Adibasi Trust''. Kisku has released more CDs with music publisher

Saregama Saregama India Ltd. (Saregama refers to the first four notes of the Indian musical scale); formerly known as The Gramophone Company Of India Ltd. is India's oldest music label owned by the RP- Sanjiv Goenka Group of companies. The company i ...

in India. In Europe, he became known in 2005 due to a performance at ARTE. In 2005 and 2008, he undertook concert tours through (Germany) and

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

with the support of Martin Kämpchen. During the first of these trips, he also appeared on the Swiss radio

DRS 2 Radio SRF 2 Kultur is one of six radio channels operated by Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (SRF), the German-language division of the Swiss public-broadcasting organisation SRG SSR. First started in 1956 (at the same time as the introduction of FM ...

. In 2007, Kisku undertook a concert tour to

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

, where he appeared in

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city ...

together with Anusheh. This concert tour was again supported by the Goethe-Institut. In 2008, he was the main performer for the ceremony of the Santhali Filmfare Awards. Kisku has appeared repeatedly in Indian radio and television programs. The singer is married and lives in

Bolpur Bolpur is a city and a municipality in Birbhum district in the state of West Bengal, India. It is the headquarters of the Bolpur subdivision. Bolpur municipal area includes Santiniketan, Sriniketan and Prantik. The city is known as a Cultural a ...

. With his fusion of traditional Santal music with more mainstream Indian music styles, Kisku is considered to be an example of a modern young Santal man balancing tradition with the demands of today. Recently he performed in New Delhi in front of 10,000 people on 6 January 2019.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kisku, Rathin Living people Indian male singers 1984 births Santali people Santali-language singers Bengali musicians Musicians from West Bengal