Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Friday, January 13, 2012

THE HINDUSTHAN TIMES - DELHI

Durjay Bhaumik could have been fixing up the tax books of a wealthy businessman, but destiny had musical designs in store for him. Today, he is a bright young tabla player on the horizon. And he is happy with what destiny chose for him.
Born and brought up in Kolkata, Bhaumik comes from a family of academicians with a strong interest in music.
Though he had been learning to play tabla since the age of six, when it came to choosing a profession, everything was clear.
“I wanted to be a chartered accountant and was studying hard to be one. But all the while I kept learning to play tabla from my guru Pandit Dulal Natta from the Lucknow gharana.
Though I continued my stud- ies, there was no break in learn- ing tabla, till my final gradua- tion exam,“ says this Lodhi Colony resident.
That was the first time that Bhaumik took a two-month break from tabla. “Everything went topsy-turvy during this time. I could not concentrate on my studies, I was not feel- ing well and eventually my results turned out to be poor.“
“At that point, my guruji told me that I should never leave tabla. That changed the course of my life and I became a full time tabla player,“ he says.
Interestingly, today Bhaumik is a graduate in commerce and a post-graduate in music. He is a graded artist of the All India Radio, Doordarshan and Indian Council for Cultural Relations.
Bhaumik's pursuit to perfect the art of tabla playing brought him to Delhi, where he started learning from Pandit V Malviya of the Farukhabad gharana.
Pandit Malviya guided him to learn from the great tabla guru, Pandit Suresh Talwalkar.
“Under guruji, my life took a new turn. He broadened my horizons not just in music but also in life,“ says Bhaumik.
His continued dedication has taken him places, accompany- ing artists of national and inter- national repute. In addition to being a soloist, Bhaumik has the distinction of having accom- panied Pandit Rajan & Sajan Mishra, Pandit Viswamohan Bhatt, Vidushi Girija Devi, Ustad Abdul Halim Zaffar Khan, Ustad Imrat Khan, Pandit Ajoy Chakraborty, Pandit Ulhas Kashalkar, Pandit Budhaditya Mukherjee, Pandit Bhajan Sopori and many other eminent artists. Having trained in the Benaras, Lucknow, Delhi and Farrukabad gharanas of tabla playing, Bhaumik's solo per- formances are enriched by the amalgamation of all these styles.
Living with his wife and two- and-a-half year old daughter in Lodi Colony, Bhaumik's aim in life has also been given by his guruji. “My guruji says the mes- sage of music is harmony and peace. My aim is to spread that message far and wide and also to have that harmony and peace within myself,“ says Bhaumik.Music as a messenger of peace