ARTISTS

Pandit Kushal Das is a leading master of both the sitar and surbahar in India today, with a style that builds on Pandit Nikhil Banerjee’s Maihar repertoire. Kushal was born in Kolkata in the year 1959, and hails from a family of musicians—his grandfather, the late Bimal Chandra Das, was a famous Esraj player, and his father, Sri Sailen Das, and uncle, Sri Santanu Das, are highly recognized sitar players. Kushal received rigorous training in advanced sitar styles and the art of music under the tutelage Professor Sanjoy Banerjee and Pandit Ajoy Sinha Roy. He began his study of the surbahar in 2002.

Kushal uses a first-hand understanding of vocal music to expand his mellifluous string phrasings, bending patiently around both his instruments in a gharana-blending style. He garners particular respect from fellow musicians—the late sarod master Pandit Buddhadev Dasgupta once remarked that he wished to be born again so he could learn music from Kushal.

In order to accomplish a more profound understanding of Raga interpretations, Kushal took additional vocal lessons with Pandit Manas Chakraborty and Sri Ramkrishna Basu. Kushal has performed in almost all the famous Music Festivals in India and has also traveled widely all over the globe. He is a Top-Grade musician of All India Radio and Doordarshan—the leading media regarding classical Indian music in India. He has many commercial albums to his credit.