PANDIT FALGUNI MITRA

A foremost vocalist of North Indian Classical music and an outstanding exponent of its oldest and most revered genre, Dhrupad, Falguni Mitra has been a performing artiste since the age of 12. A Guru, and until recently also the Prefect, of the ITC Sangeet Research Academy (Kolkata, India ) Falguni Mitra brings impeccable musical credentials and rich experience as a concert performer, teacher and administrator.

Falguni Mitra was initiated into music by his father, Sangeetacharya Shib Mitra at the age of five. Shib Mitra was a disciple of Sangeetacharya and Mridangacharya Bholanath Pathakji of Varanasi, a doyen of the Bettiah tradition, a school known for its expertise in the four Banis of Dhrupad that find expression in Falguni Mitra’s music. Shib Mitra also had the privilege of receiving training in “Alapchari” from Ustad Nasiruddin Khan Sahib, the patriarch of the Dagars. Thus Falguni Mitra presents a distinctive style of Dhrupad, blending elements of the Dagar style of Raga delineation and the Bettiah style of Dhrupad and Dhamaar, with an aesthetic balance that reflects his musical ideals.

Possessing a rich and sonorous voice, Falguni Mitra’s music is marked for the depth and sensitivity of alap, majestic compositions in all four Banis of Dhrupad, intricate layakari keeping intact the text of the composition, and an extraordinary sense of proportion giving an overall effect of great completeness and charm. Rooted in tradition, he is refreshingly innovative as his own compositions reveal.

Featured at prestigious music festivals in India and abroad, Mitra is the recipient of many titles and awards, and is a regular artiste of Akashvani and Doordarshan. A thoughtful musician and a wonderful teacher, his concerts, lecture demonstrations, workshops and articles in various journals receive unqualified appreciation from all. In Chennai for over a decade until 1998, he was a frequent speaker at the annual December conferences of Indian Fine Arts Society and the Music Academy, Chennai. He composed and directed the music for the dance ballet “Meera” choreographed by Smt. Rukmani Devi Arundale and presented at Kalakshetra’s prestigious Annual Arts Festival.

Pandit Mitra is associated with various Universities such as Viswabharati University, Rabindra Bharati University, Delhi University, Banaras Hindu University, and the Annamalai University as an expert scholar, advisor and external examiner. He is a member of the experts Committee of ITC Sangeet Research Academy, a panel member of West Bengal State Music Academy and the Audition Board of All India Radio.