Ashesh Bandopadhyay

Asheshchandra Bandopadhyay, one of the foremost exponents of Esraj in India, was born into a family of musicians in Bishnupur. He learnt music under his father Ramprasanna Bandopadhyay, his uncles Gopeswar Bandopadhyay and Surendranath Bandopadhyay. He also learnt vocal music along with playing various instruments. In 1937, when he was only 17 years old, selected as a teacher of Classical Vocal music by Rabindranath at Visva Bharati. Besides Hindusthani Vocal music, he taught Sitar and Esraj for 50 years. The Esraj had so long been only an accompaniment to other kinds of music, but Ashesh Babu by his matchless style gave the Esraj an individual distinction in the field of music. As an artiste and as a teacher Asheshchandra' s music is highly innovative. Besides the solo performance of the Esraj in classical Music, he has effectively employed Esraj as an accompaniment to Rabindra Sangit and in doing so he has created a new world of artistic cooperation. A memorable contribution to Satyajit Ray's film on Rabindranath was Asheshchandra's Esraj.