Kumar Bose

Pandit Kumar Bose (Pandit ("Sanskrit, learned") = honorific title bestowed by elders), born April 4, 1953, in Calcutta, India, is a Bengali Indian tabla maestro and composer, and the most famous living authority of the Benaras Tabla Gharana of Indian classical music. He was a disciple first of his father, and then, with his father’s untimely death, he was initiated by Pandit Kishen Maharaj [http://www.itcsra.org/sra_news_views/obituary/kishan_maharaj.html] (1923-2008), the former authority of the Benaras Gharana into Guru-Shishya Parampara, and earned the respect of the lineage of elders.

PARAMPARA, FAMILY ORIGINS

Born into a gifted and distinguished musical family of Calcutta, West Bengal, Kumar’s father, the late Pandit Biswanath Bose, was called the tabla "Nawaz" of the Benaras Gharana, and his mother, Srimati Bharati Bose, was a disciple of Ustad Dabir Khan (Bincar) & Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, receiving several awards in her career, including performance as an All-India Radio artist and the President's Award for best sitar performance in 1956, while pregnant with younger brother Jayanta. All three brothers are noted musicians. His father pushed Kumar relentlessly using a traditional, thorough and vigorous training regime. One story tells that his father would chain him to a window grill for hours to ensure that his son played for the prescribed time. Bose lovingly concedes that this ensured his discipline and has given him the ability to play for ten hours without interruption.

DEVELOPMENT of GENIUS

Arguably the premier tabla maestro of his generation today in the world of authentic classical Indian music, Kumar Bose leads Indian instrumentalists of the modern era because of both his genius as a player, his skill as a teacher, his innate leadership capacity, and his proactive role in bringing tabla to the forefront of music through lecture demonstrations and mini-recitals.

His genius has been his ability to evolve a distinctive style of his own without diluting the purity of tradition. With his fluidity and complexities of play, Kumar Bose has elevated the tabla as a musical instrument in its own right, both through anticipated solo performances as a main artist, and well as giving life to dance, vocal and instrumental ragas by captivating the audience during accompaniment. Maintaining devotion to classic tabla for 35 years without interruption, he is considered one of the most powerful players alive, while maintaining a fluid and melodious fineness in quality.

Kumar Bose first made headlines in the 1970’s, with his stunning performances accompanying sitar maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar, with whom he later toured worldwide as exclusive accompanist for over 14 years. The legendary sitarist was largely responsible for encouraging tabla players to be more expressive and expansive in their accompaniment, and Kumar Bose became a perfect propagator for Ravi Shankar's ground-breaking experimentations.

In addition, he is unusual in his negotiations with the "Bnaya" (Bass Drum), which he plays with his right hand, taking the Tabla under his left hand. Though he is right-hand dominant, this practice started as a result of sitting across from and mirroring his father from early childhood.

THE TABLA

An instrument developed in the 1700’s in north Indian classical music, the tabla, coupled with a bass drum, has traditionally been a background instrument, providing percussion for a main string instrument, voice or dance. The Benaras Gharana requires each tabla player to be skillful in all these expressions of music and tempo.

Next to the sitar, the sound of the tabla has come to be globally recognised as being representative of Indian Music. Since its introduction, the tabla has established itself as the most versatile of Indian percussion instruments, through its capacity for seemingly limitless improvised permutations based on a distinctive grammar of syllables. With its expressive tonal inflections and melodic nuances, it is now widely acknowledged throughout the world music community as one of the most complete percussion instruments.

Of the six established tabla gharanas or schools of tabla playing, the Benares Gharana has most successfully managed to maintain its original stylistic purity, through the efforts of established disciples refusing to compromise the traditions when moving into contemporary fusions of more lucrative music-making. While criticized decades ago for his rigidity and refusal to adapt his tabla to modern, fusion and film music, Kumar Bose is now credited with preserving classical musical style and philosophy. He has also been true to the tradition of the Benares gharana by subtly balancing the warm bass tones of the "Bnaya" with the higher-pitched crisp tones and syncopations of the Tabla in his recitals.

The solo is played in a rhythmic cycle of sixteen beats, known as tin-taal. This is the most popular framework for improvisation used by tabla players, because of its great scope for elaboration. The tabla is accompanied by a cyclic melody in sixteen beats called lehara, played simultaneously by sarangi and harmonium. Many of his compositions have been written to accompany the rhythmical movements of Kathak dancers and are a specialty of the Benares tradition, that Kumar Bose exemplifies. His solo tabla performances continue to be a huge attraction for Indian music lovers. As Indian classical music is essentially a performing art, its greatest exponents have always thrived on spontaneous interaction with an informed and involved audience.

EARLY CAREER

His first public performance was at age 4, in India. By age 14, he was performing abroad, and has performed at every major music hall worldwide, including Royal Albert Hall in London, the Kremlin in Moscow, Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall in New York, and throughout every corner of India. Kumar Bose has also been a sought-after musician, both at home and abroad, by each and every member of the community of celebrity artists, including award-winning Amjad Ali Khan, Ustad Vilayat Khan, Hariprasad Chaurasia, and Shivkumar Sharma. From the Benaras Gharana, he has played with Girija Devi, Rajan/Sajan Misra, Kanthe Maharaj, and Kishen Maharaj. He has the rare distinction of highly-acclaimed performances with Zubin Mehta's Philharmonic Orchestra and participation in several symphony orchestras conducted by Pandit Ravi Shankar, Yehudi Menuhin, and Arnovich in England, Italy, China, Russia and the USA. Over the past 40 years he has also performed and recorded in duets with his guru to reach worldwide audiences and to promote the traditions of his Gharana and his guru more than himself. Perhaps due to this lack of self-promotion, he has not yet been awarded more international and national prizes that his contemporaries have received.

In addition to the ten-year exclusive tour as the tabla accompanist to Pandit Ravi Shankar from 1984 to 1994, he has performed and composed with musicians globally including leaders in Jazz, Pop and Rock. His duet with Prof. Semurani, a Thumba player of Iran, was acclaimed at the International Seminar of Music in 1974, in Holland. At the India Festival Moscow (1988) he received distinguished honors amidst playing with an orchestra. He was the Assistant Music Director of Mrinal Sen's globally acclaimed film "GENESIS" with the music director Pandit Ravi Shankar, and his music is featured in several of Pandit Ravi Shankar’s albums. His collaborations add to his international reputation.

In 2007, Kumar Bose was awarded the premier recognition for arts and music faculty by the Sangeet Natak Akademi in Delhi, India.

INTERNATIONAL REPUTE

Kumar Bose has produced or performed on over 200 recordings in several genres, while staying true to his classical Indian lineage. A list of his earlier recordings is printed in the table below. The first live international recording of his solo virtuosity was released through the Darbar Festival 2006, in London, in which his performance includes one the most famous Benares kaydas - 'dhige dhina tirakita dina' (tracks 14&15), a favourite with Benares players.

The album also includes some rare gems from the archives of the Benares repertoire, including the compositions of Ram Sahai, who founded the gharana at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Toward the conclusion of the solo Kumar Bose demonstrates a couple of his specialities, playing a variety of cross rhythms on the right hand dayan while simultaneously holding down a fast repetitive beat on the left hand bnaya (bass drum). 'na dhin dhin na' is the theka articulated in fast speed, showing subtle control and balance of both drums. The London Times reviewed the performance, declaring him "the best tabla player in the world today."

A master percussionist, he also drums Sri-khole, Pakhwaj, Dholak, Nal, and Banga-Kanga. His two brothers, Jayanta Bose, a reputed lyrist, composer, harmonium soloist and singer, and Debojyoti Bose, a noted sarod artist & music director, carry the musical heritage alongside their eldest brother.

In addition to his musical genius, he is also an awarded sportsman and karam champion and has inspired countless musicians of the next generation. Fluent in four languages and a personality of international repute in professional music circles, he now conducts private lessons through gurukala in the style of his elders, conducting classes daily with students ranging from age 3 to age 35, at his home in north Calcutta. He is known for maintaining high standards for his students, refusing to discount the importance of "reyaaz", or devoted practice.

SOME RECORDINGS

Cassette Released by Serial No.

1. Drums of India -Tabla Solo HMV STCS 850792

2.Ustad Vilayet Khan HMV STCS O4B 7265

3. SMRITI - Pt. Ravi Shankar HMV CHIX 1026

4. Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt HMV STCS 02B 6279

5. Enchanting Folk Melodies On Instrumental Trio HMV HTCS 02B 2708

6. SITAR VADAN- Pandit Nikhil Banerjee. Vol -I VENUS VCBG - 015

7. SITAR VADAN - Pandit Nikhil Banerjee. Vol-II VENUS VCBG - 016

8. AFTAAB-E-SITAR-Ustad Vilayet Khan EMI STCS 04B 7208

9. INSTRUMENTAL TRIO - Vol-I HMV STCS 850318

10. INSTRUMENTAL TRIO- Vol-II HMV STCS 850319

11. SPIRIT OF FREEDOM CONCERT - Pandit Ravi Shankar

12. Pandit Ravi Shankar Music Today

13. The Golden Trio HMV

14. Pandit V. G. Jog - Violin Recital

15. Vishwa Mohan Bhatt Concord Records 05-16 "'CD Released By Serial No. "' 1. Raga Ragini - Indian Quintet Chhanda Dhara SP 84188 2. Genesis Milan CDCH 287 RC690 3. Spirit of India Chhanda Dhara SP 83688 4. Ravi Shankar Inside the Kremlin BMG Records

5. Nishat Khan EMI CD PSLP 5441

6. Unique Ravi Shankar Chhanda Dhara SNCD 70991

7. Brilliancy and Oldest Tradition - KISHEN MAHARAJ AND KUMAR BOSE Chhanda Dhara SNCD 70493

8. Golden Jubilee Concert - Pt. Ravi Shankar Chhanda Dhara SNCD 70390

9. Sublime Sounds of Sitar Oriental Records CD 116

10. Pandit Ravi Shankar OCORA @558674 HM90

11. Darbar Music Festival - 2006 Darbar Music

SEE ALSO : 1. Darbar Festival, 2006

2. home page of Pandit Kumar Bose

3. Indian Artists listing