Pandit Tejendra Narayan Majumdar
&
Pandit Tanmoy Bose 

Tejendra Narayan Majumdar, the noted sarod player, is one of the most popular classical musicians of India today. His music sparkles with the very rare combination of virtuosity with classical purity and a deep sense of aesthetics. Tejendra is an able representative of the legendary Senia Maihar school of music, the most notable exponents of which style are Ustad Ali Akbar Khan and Pandit Ravi Shankar.

Born on May 17, 1961, like most other classical musicians, Tejendra started learning music at an early age, first with his grand father Bibhuti Ranjan Majumdar and later with his father, Ranjan Majumdar. Tejendra also received vocal training from Amaresh Chowdhury and rhythm training from Anil Palit.

After showing considerable talent in his early teens, Tejendra was taken under the guidance of Ustad Bahadur Khan, with whom Tejendra studied for 18 years. During this period, he stood first in the All India Radio Music Competition (1981), and was awarded the President's gold medal and the Pandit D. V. Paluskar award. After the untimely demise of the Ustad, Tejendra studied under Ajay Sinha Roy, and was later accepted as a disciple by the greatest Indian instrumentalist, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, from whom Tejendra gets his instructions today. Tejendra's repertoire combines elements from the Dhrupad, Tantrakari and Gayaki styles of music.

Tejendra has performed in most of the major concerts in India, including the Dover Lane Music conference, Tansen Music conference, Hafiz Ali Khan Memorial conference, I.T.C. Golden Greats Festival, Park Circus Music conference. Tejendra has also given many performances in U. S. A., Canada, and Europe. Tejendra has been accompanied by all the great tabla players of India, including Pandit Kishan Maharaj, Sankar Ghosh, Pandit Swapan Chaudhury, Anindo Chatterjee, Kumar Bose, Sabir Khan and Ustad Zakir Hussain.

The imposing building at 240A Rashbehari Avenue in downtown Kolkata used to throb with activity -business, music, medicine et al. It was a nodal point of practitioners and connoisseurs of all the above and could boast of being a landmark in the area. It was in such circumstances that a child was born to Tapan and Krishna Bose at a time when Indian Music began being paid serious attention in the west due to the efforts of the legendary maestros. Little did people realize when the child grew up in the Bose household, attending the world’s largest school South Point and indulging in pranks and being naughty that he would grow up to globe trot the world of music and today the world knows the child as the quintessential Tanmoy Bose one of the foremost musician in contemporary world music and an indispensable member in the global fraternity of percussion. His Alma mater was quick to recognize its famous student featuring him as one of its few noted ambassadors during the golden jubilee celebrations of this huge institution.

Receiving his early tutelage from the legendary Lt Kanai Dutta, Tanmoy became the Gandabandh Shagird{formally initiated disciple in Indian classical music}of the noted torchbearer of the Farukkabad gharana –Pandit Shankar Ghosh. For the last three decades he has been taking lessons from his guru in spite of keeping an extremely busy performing and teaching schedule across the globe. Even as early as being in college he had the rare opportunity of being called upon by another musical legend, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan to perform with him …..and the association with this legendary maestro has been that of a family member for the last two decades performing with him so regularly. Another great milestone in Tanmoy Bose’s life was achieved when the greatest ambassador of Indian Classical Music Bharat Ratna Pandit Ravi Shankar invited him nearly six years ago to play regularly with him around the world and to day he spends almost half the year traveling with the legendary maestro and in turn learning more and getting better with each of the concerts that he plays with him.

Tanmoy has been an ardent researcher and composer. His long tours abroad had given him opportunities to interact and play with musicians, composers, choreography and the like he put to very good use his rich experience acquired hereby and created DHWANI, BEYOND BORDERS, TAALYAAGNA, CHATURANG and MOKSH - based on the virtues of Indian Rhythmic nuances.

In 2002 his world music project TAAL TANTRA show casing cross cultural rhythm and devices won the hearts of connnoisseurs and critics alike.

For Tanmoy, music and life are inseparable. Rhythm is his quest of truth and beauty- it transcends all other priorities in his life.