Bimal Kumar Bhattacharya, Ahmedabad

Born in Kolkata in 1967, Dr. Bimal Kumar Bhattacharya has been learning Tabla since 1972 (age of 5), from his guru Sri Tapan Kumar Banerjee at Kolkata - who is a senior disciple of Pt. Shankar Ghosh of Farukhabad Gharana. The speciality of this gharana is that the compositions are well knitted with in-built intricacies involving the well maintained balance between two hands leading to softer modulations and soothing sound production.

So how did this young scientist get into music also? Well, it was music first and then the science. His father loved music. And encouraged everyone in his family to learn music as a hobby if not making it one's profession. Bimal used to accompany his elder sister to her guruji's home and when listening to her sing, he used to instantly start drumming on the table. On knowing about this, his father made him learn the tabla. It has then been a long musical journey from the table to tabla.

Bimal's first public performance before a discerning audience was during the International children's year at a tender age of nine. He performed tabla solo in the 9th Yuva Mahotsav organised by Sangit Kala Parishad, New Delhi in 1994. Bimal has accompanied Smt Shubha Mudgal, Pt. Rajan-Sajan Mishra, Pt. Sunil Banerjee amongst others.

Having been awarded Sangeet Prabhakar during 1986, Bimal Bhattacharya stood first in Tabla in East Zone Inter University Youth Festival held at Manipur in 1987. He has been performing as a casual artiste with B-Grade in All India Radio and Doordarshan since 1992. Bimal received Maharishi Award in 1992 from the Maharshi Gandharva Ved Viswavidyapeeth at Ghaziabad.

His other achievements include Young Artiste Scholarship from Ministry of HRD, New Delhi in 1995. Bimal is an empanelled artiste of Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR) since 1994.

Bimal, apart from his musical endeavours, has acquired a Ph.D. in Agricultural Physics. He is currently working as a scientist in Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) at Ahmedabad. He says that music helps in building concentration and thereby, enhances one's performance in other fields also.

email: bkbhatt@sudeepaudio.com

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