Pandit Jasraj, Tejendra Narayan Majumdar and Rashid Khan tonight’s attraction
The performance of the three eminent maestros from the classical music world, namely Pandit Jasraj, Pandit Tejendra Narayan Majumdar and Ustad Rashid Khan, among other performers, will be the main attraction of the night. They are all scheduled to perform on the fourth day of the ongoing ‘Bengal Classical Music Festival’ at the Abahani Field in the capital tonight.
Iconic classical vocalist from India Pandit Jasraj is set to delight audience tonight with god-gifted instrument, his magical voice, while Tejendra Narayan Majumdar will take the stage to perform sarod and Rashid Khan with Khayal.
Pandit Jasraj is an iconic classical vocalist and exponent of the Mewati Gharana. He was first introduced to music by his father Pandit Motiram. Jasraj continued his training under the guidance of his brothers Pandit Maniram and Pandit Pratap Narayan, after his father’s passing, and also trained under Maharaja Jaiwant Singh Waghela of Sanand during later years. He has performed in numerous shows in India and abroad. Jasraj is a recipient of the PadmaShree, PadmaBhushan, Padma Vibhusan, Sangeet Natak Academy Award, ITC Sangeet Research Academy Award, Global Indian Music Award (GIMA), amongst many others.
On the other hand, Tejendra Narayan Majumdar is a distinguished sarod artist and an exponent of the Maihar Gharana. He began his early training under the guidance of his grandfather, Bibhuti Ranjan Majumdar, and later his father, Ranjan Majumdar, nurtured Majumdar’s considerable talent. He eventually continued his training under many notable musicians, which included Ustad Bahadur Khan, Pandit Amaresh Chowdhury, Anil Palit, Pandit Ajay Sinha Roy, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, and Pandit Ravi Shankar.
Majumdar is known to combine the intellectual density and technical virtuosity of his Gharana, while combining elements from the Dhrupad, Tantrakari, as well as Gayaki styles of music. Quoting the New York Times in an article published in 1994: ‘Mr. Majumdar’s playing sometimes suggested the way Beethoven reconstructed a theme of his variations in his late works.’
He was awarded the President’s Gold Medal, the Pandit D V Paluskar Award, the Sangeet Mahasamman, to name a few. He is currently a guru at the Bengal Parampara Sangeetalay, in Dhaka.
And, Rashid Khan is a distinguished vocalist who belongs to the Rampur-Sahaswan Gharana, and is the great-grandson of Inayat Hussain Khan and the nephew of Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan. Khan began his training under the guidance of his uncle, and later from Nissar Hussain Khan.
Khan is known to include the slow elaboration in his vilambit khayals in the manner of his maternal grandfather and developed exceptional expertise in the use of sargams and sargam taankari. Khan was awarded with the Padma Shree, as well as the Sangeet Natak Academi Award, Global Indian Music Awards, and the Maha Sangeet Samman.