Gandhar, a trust that continues the legacy of the yesteryear artists

Abhrajita Mandal
Fashion Analyst &
Feature Writer

Gandhar Presents – A Musical Evening
The well-curated musical evening heralded by Saikat Sekhareswar Ray and Sutapa Sarkar was recently held at ICCR, Kolkata on 7th November 2019. A first class passout from Dakshinee and Assistant Professor of SRTFI, Saikat Sekhareswar Ray has more than a decade of experience in Tagore songs and contemporary compositions. 

The beautiful and effervescent Sutapa Bandyopadhyay Sarkar from Mumbai needs no introduction. Having completed her training from Dakshinee, she has carved a niche for herself in Mumbai and Kolkata. Daughter and student of Sri Jayanta Bandyopadhyay, she started singing since the age of three. She has a wonderful repertoire in musical circles as a Rabindra Sangeet exponent.

The name ‘Gandhar’ is a fond reminder of her father’s music school. She has converted it into a trust, which works to support yesteryear’s artists. Sutapa Sarkar is giving back humanitarian service to the society in return for the love she received and plans to carry on the legacy of her late father. The musical evening has been dedicated to none other than Chanda Chatterjee, a yesteryear jatra, theatre actress and radio singer. She has also worked in quite a few television serials.

As Sutapa Sarkar says, “We have not thought about any specific theme for this show. We have known each other since childhood. We just thought of performing together tonight. We have completed our formal training from Dakshinee. Apart from that, I have also learnt from my father. I started singing since age three. It came naturally to me as it was a part of the family.”

“Both me and Sutapa have known each other since childhood. After some time, she went to Mumbai and I stayed back in Kolkata. We have been looking forward to work together for quite some time and this was a great platform to do that. This is the first time, that we are performing together.” says the singer Saikat Sekhareswar Ray.

Sutapa further says, “We have Dakshinee affiliated school in Mumbai, Srijan. I am heading Srijan at the moment.”

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