Reenat Fauzia

Reenat Fauzia, born in 1967, comes of a world-renowned family of musicians. She is the grand daughter of Ustad Ayet Ali Khan, the legendary maestro of music of the subcontinent, brother of Surshamrat Ustad Alauddin Khan, the world famous maestro of music. Her father, Mr. Mobarak Hossain Khan is a distinguished musicologist and litterateur and mother Mrs. Fauzia Khan is a famous vocal artist. Her uncles Ustad Abed Hossain Khan, Ustad Bahadur Hossain Khan and music director Sheikh Sadi Khan are famous names in the same field. Her family originates from the village of Shibpur, Brahmanbaria district. The melody of music is something spontaneous in her being. She was attracted to music since her childhood. She drew her inspiration to play on Sitar out of her love for the wonderful instrument, which is a part of her family tradition. Reenat started her training in music lessons from her cousin Shahadat Hossain Khan, reputed Sarod player of Bangladesh. Later, she received her Guru-Shishya-Parampara music training from her cousin Ustad Khurshid Khan, a distinguished Sitar preceptor. She has been a disciple of her guru ( mentor) for more than twenty five years. Reenat completed a five years certificate course on Sitar from ‘Chhayanaut’, a pioneering music institute of Bangladesh. Reenat started playing Sitar in Bangladesh Television from 1987. She is an enlisted ‘Special’ grade classical artiste of Bangladesh Television and Radio Bangladesh. She also plays Sitar on other T.V. channels of the country. Her first c.d. on Sitar recital entitled ‘A Touch of Love’ was released in 2004. Later, four more entitled ‘Tribute to Grandfather Ustad Ayet Ali Khan’, ‘Haramanik’, ‘Raag Onurag’ and ‘Sweet Dreams’ have been added to her credit. As a member of the family of Ustad Alauddin Khan she is a follower of ‘Seni Maihar Gharana’ or ‘Seni Alauddin Gharana’. This is a new gharana introduced in the realm of Hindustani classical music by Ustad Alauddin Khan. Ustad Alauddin Khan was the disciple of Wazir Khan, a descendant of Mian Tansen, the great musician. He accepted the style of his guru and later on blended it with his own style and thus the subcontinent was enriched with a new and rich gharana. With the style of this gharana Reenat is practicingSitar intensively in quest for the excellence and zest for a life of music. The sheer virtuosity and melodies in her fingers, which she has achieved, have already attracted the attention of classical music lovers of the country. She got ‘Anonna Shirsho Dosh podok’ (Anonna top ten award) for her outstanding performance in Instrumental music in the year 2010. Reenat Fauzia has a brilliant academic career. She obtained her M.Sc. in Home Economics, from DhakaUniversity, and Post Graduate Diploma from ‘Mastricht School of Management’, Netherlands. Recently she has completed her M.Phil. thesis on Music entitled ‘Innovation and Development of Traditional Musical Instruments of Bangladesh’. She joined the Bangladesh Civil Service (Education) in 1993, and is at present an Associate Professor in the College of Home Economics. Reenat has a wide experience in traveling different countries.