An inspired rendering of alap, jor and jhalla of mesmerising Raag Darbari is followed by a composition in dhamaar taal, a 14-beat cycle, by Pandit Tejendra Narayan Majumdar on the sarod. Pandit Kumar Bose brings the magic of Benaras gharana with his midas touch. The masterful performance is savoured by Ustad Wajahat Khan, Purbayan Chatterjee, Shashank Subramanyam, Ganesh & Kumaresh, Sukhwinder Singh, Subhanakar Banerjee and Patri Satish – all seated on the front row of the auditorium.

Tejendra Majumdar is among the world’s leading sarod players from the Senia-Maihar gharana. He studied under various gurus, including his grandfather Bibhuti Ranjan (on mandolin), Amaresh Chowdhury (vocal and tabla), and 18 years with Bahadur Khan (sarod). After Bahadur’s death he received instruction from Ali Akbar Khan, a revered figure in 20th century Hindustani classical music, and further refined a complex style that fuses gayaki (lyrical vocal imitation) with tantrakari (intricate instrumental playing).

Kumar Bose is one of the modern world’s most exciting percussionists. He trained under legendary Benares maestro Pandit Kishan Maharaj and embodies his guru’s blend of discipline and flamboyance with forming a powerful style. He rose to prominence as Ravi Shankar’s accompanist, and has performed with almost all of today’s leading Hindustani instrumentalists as well as working in dance and film. Outside of music he is an avid player of carrom [Indian chess] - his guru once gifted him a gold carrom set, saying “he is equally addicted to the game and the tabla”.

Pandit Tejendra Majumdar (sarod)
Pandit Kumar Bose (tabla)
Raag Darbari Kanada, Thaat: Asavari, Samay: midnight