Ruchira Panda carries with her vocals the heritage of the 1000-year-old Kotali Gharana, a style of Indian classical music native to East India, especially Bengal. As they say, it takes an artist to create an audience. Mentored by her guru Pandit Manas Chakraborty, whose careful attention along with her own dedication and discipline, have shaped her gayki (style), finesse and purity of rendition - inimitable in the current generation of classical vocalists. In a world more engrossed in the fast and the furious, she has been spreading the purest form of this eclectic music. The lineage of Pandit Manas Chakraborty and Sangeetacharya Tarapada Chakraborty continues with her, as we experience her supreme artistry either onstage at the major music festivals in India and abroad or at the teaching podiums of Ali Akbar College of Music, San Rafael; Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, London; and Departments of World Music at various Universities in the USA. Ruchira's cerebral approach to classical and semi-classical music weaves a new tapestry at each performance, and, is much adored by the connoisseurs. Experience her voice. Experience the soul of music.

ABOUT RUCHIRA

Ruchira Panda, an outstanding vocalist groomed in the Kotali gharana has earned an enviable distinction amongst the younger musicians in the realm of Hindustani Classical Music. The competent upholder of this rich heritage was born in high traditional family of educationalists, arts and music. She had the privilege of being initiated to this parampara and went under the protegee of the great maestro musician Pandit Manas Chakraborty, her one and only Guru. The master mind of her guru noted the quality of her gifted and rare voice and creative capabilities. Being a perfectionist and trend setter his strict and vigilant guidance moulded her musical genius into a unique blend of highest order. Her gayaki speaks out for her keen interest in aesthetics, spiritual awareness and serenity which is seldom found in modern days. She carefully keeps up with the purity and nuances of the Kotali gharana aligning with the multifarious gayaki of her Guru and his predecessors. The flawless manner in which she brings out the texture of the ragas and taans shows that a rigorous training, hard, and sincere labour has gone into her making as a vocalist and culminated her craftsmanship to what it is- perfect and finished to every detail. Her cognition and remarkable ability to execute intricate combinations of notes in rare ragas, specially her delineation of innovative sargams and taans confirm her eagerness to reach out to wider and wider dimensions. Her voice, the crest of a class can execute a total feast of melody and classicism in khayal, thumri and other semi classical forms. Her music is not only perfect craftsmanship but a rare blend of immaculate precision and emotive imagination, which takes the listeners into a peaceful journey through the unseen and unheard marvels of a new world. She craves for perfection and attains it with ease, the more she attains bigger becomes her reach, richer she becomes newer becomes her dimension. To her, Music is not only an art to perform but a love to live with - it is a voyage towards eternity that can only be realized by feeling one and the same with Music.


WORK AND CONTRIBUTION
Ruchira, since her debut performance at an early age, has, over the years, been performing in a number of prestigious and reputed music conferences throughout India and Abroad. Ruchira, presently a national grade, regular artist of All India Radio has been featured on a number of leading Television channels of India. Besides Ruchira is assisting her Guru in all major music-festivals and workshops throughout India. She has worked for a documentary as a playback-singer based on 'traditional development of Thumri' for the National Channel. For the last few years she is also engaged in giving basic and advanced training of Hindustani Vocal Music to the devoted learners of young generation.

Ruchira, is one of the founders and now the general secretary of 'PARAMPARIK - the tradition�, an organization created with the objective of upholding the traditional values and ingredients of the heritage of Hindustani Classical Music, while recognizing the changes that have occurred in social and cultural fields. “PARAMPARIK-the tradition” organizing Classical music conferences for ten years with eminent artists and organizing concerts for upcoming artists and workshops for the students of this field. The organization is also extending its helping hand in the field of education, health and society at large.


AWARDS AND RECOGNITION �

Ruchira, a post-graduate in Economics from Jadavpur University has already been the recipient of several awards and recognition in her starting days of musical career. She has stood first both in KHAYAL and THUMRI in the Talent Search Contest organised by Dover Lane Music Conference/Academy in the year 1998-99 and received the prestigious Ustad Amir Khan Award as the best vocalist , HMV award as the best young talent of the year 1998-99 and Rotu Sen Memorial Award for Thumri. The Department of Culture, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India has selected her for award of a scholarship in the field of Hindustani Music in the year 1998-99. She has received Sangeet Kalaratna Award from Matri Udbodhan Ashram, Patna. She has been invited as visiting artist for lecture demonstration in World Music Department of several Universities of USA and also at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, UK. Further the Ministry of Culture, Government of India has awarded her as Junior Fellow in the field of Hindustani Music for the year 2008 � 2009. She has been felicitated with �Jadubhatta Award� by Salt Lake Cultural Association in the year 2009 - 2010. This year she has been empanelled as Hindustani Classical Vocalist in Indian Council of Cultural Relation, ministry of External Affairs, Govt. of India. A national grade artist of All India Radio Ruchira, to her credit has been performing in all Major Music conferences in India, UK, Europe, USA and Bangladesh for a decade. Recently Ruchira has been felicitated with �Sangeet Samman� by Salt Lake Cultural Association on the occasion of its Silver Jubilee Celebration (2011 � 2012 ). Further Questz World has released her compact disk namely � Saanjh � .


CONCERTS �


Ruchira, to her credit has been performing in all Major Music conferences in India and Abroad.
Notable performances:
Maharana Kumbha Sangeet Parishad, Udaipur
Saptak Archive, Ahmedabad
Jalsaghar, Mumbai
Pt. Nandan Mehta Smriti Samaroh, Saptak, Surat
Sangeet Mahabharati, Mumbai
Horizon Series, ICCR, Rabindranath Tagore Centre, Kolkata
Evening Raga, Allahabad
The Dover Lane Music Conference, Diamond Jubilee Celebration, Kolkata
Vivek Mela, 150th Birth Anniversary Celebration of Swami Vivekananda
Salt Lake Silver Jubilee Music Festival, Kolkata
Gokul Nag Foundation, Kolkata
Sarbabharatiya Sangeet - O � Sanskriti Parishad
Kala Bhavan, Viswa Bharati University, Shantiniketan
Inner Voyage Communication, Colours of Spring, Kolkata
Maharashtra Lalit Kala Nidhi, Mumbai
Bengal Club, Kolkata
Krintan, Delhi
Dakshini, Kolkata
Moore Avenue Music Conference, Kolkata
Shantiniketan Society of Visual Arts and Design, Shantiniketan
Shibpur Ranjini Annual Conference in memory of Ustad Ali Akbar Khan
West Bengal State Music Academy Annual Conference
Salt Lake Music Festival in memory of Ustad Ali Akbar Khan & Pandit Santosh Krishna Biswas
Sangeetacharya Tarapada Chakraborty Birth Centenary Celebration festival
Sangeet Piyasi
Kalashree, Kolkata
Melodic Relation, Howrah
Epicentre, Gurgaon
HCL Concert Series, Habitat Centre, New Delhi
Sangeet Sankalp, Chandrapur
Meifil, Nagpur
Annual Concert of Bharatiya Reserve Bank Note Mudran Private Limited (BRBNMPL)
Mehfil, Shrirampur
Bharatiya Sanskriti Samsad
Sadasant Sangeet Sammelan
Gurupurnima Sangeet Mahotsav, Patna
Raga 2001 Musical Evening
West Bengal State Music Academy Music Concerts for upcoming musicians
Sur Sagar Society Concert
Anirban Sangeet Sammelan
Girija Shankar Music Festival
Salt Lake Music Festival
Tarapada Music Conference
Dover Lane Music Festival (Half Yearly)

Moreover Ruchira has presented her vocal recital several times in a no of places in UK, USA and Bangladesh. To mention she has been invited to perform at Nehru Centre, London, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, London, Ali Akbar College of Music, San Rafael, California; Vedanta International Cultural Centre, L.A. California and lecture � demonstration in World Music Department of a no of Universities and at many other prestigious places.


TOUR ABROAD..

Concerts in BANGLADESH: July 2011
Concerts and Workshops in USA and UK : September - October 2007
Concert and Workshop at London, U.K., 19th October – 21st October
Concerts and Workshops in USA: May – July 2006
Concerts and Workshops in UK: April 2006
Concerts in BANGLADESH: March 2001

Recent updates -
Performed in the 60th Diamond Jubilee Celebration of Dover Lane Music Conference, Kolkata in 2012
Questz World has released her compact disk namely “Saanjh” , inaugurated by Pandit Viswa Mohan Bhatt
Felicitated with SANGEET SAMMAN, by Salt Lake Silver Jubilee Music Festival in 2011
Empanelled artist of Hindustani Classical Music by ICCR
Awarded as Fellow by the Ministry of Culture, Govt. Of India in 2009
Felicitated with JADUBHATTA AWARD, by Salt Lake Music Festival in 2009