SHAURYA SINGH THAPA
5 New-Age Musicians
Who Are Redefining The Sitar
The Score Magazine
20 highonscore . com
PURBAYAN CHATTERJEE
RISHABH SEEN
ANUPAMA BHAGWAT
NILADRI KUMAR
AYAN SENGUPTA
Purbayan Chatterjee
Picking up the sitar from his father Parthapratim Chatterjee , Senia Maihar gharana ’ s Purbayan Chatterjee is a maestro noted for blending the classical with touches of contemporary of world music . Currently in his mid-40s , Chatterjee already boasts a noteworthy body of work , both as a solo artist and as a member of other classical / fusion outfits . For instance , he also served in the original lineup of Shastriya Syndicate , a septet fused influences of the tabla , mridangam , and sitar with genres like jazz and rock . For a beginner ’ s course in Chatterjee ’ s discography , one must definitely listen to Shastriya Syndicate ’ s Syndicated , and Shiva Shankara , a track that features tabla legend Zakir Hussain and playback vocalist Shankar Mahadevan .
Rishabh Seen
Punjab-based Rishabh Seen comes from a long line of classical instrumentalists but what he ’ s doing currently is probably nobody in his family ( or in the Indian classical music space ) ever thought of . After playing the sitar as a part of Arijit Singh ’ s touring crew , Seen went on to found Sitar Metal , the world ’ s first and only sitar-fronted metal band . Sitar purists might scorn at his work of fusion but as is evident from Sitar Metal ’ s self-titled debut album , Seen ’ s experimentation aim to bring about a new age of experimentation that opens the space to take the sitar to unchartered heights . Recently , in 2021 , the 23-year-old scene also found a feature on Forbes Asia ’ s 30 Under 30 list .
Anupama Bhagwat
Hailing from Chattisgarhi city Bhilai , Anupama Bhagwat is a so-called ‘ Surmani ’ ( as Sur Shringar Sansad dubbed her once ) and one of the finest sitar maestros in modern times . She stands out in her performances with the Gayaki style , a lyrical method patterned after the human voice . Newer converts to her music can get a glimpse of her talents via Darbar Festival ’ s YouTube channel along with Bhagwat ’ s own channel . Such is her legacy that in 2006 , Italian astronomer Vincenzo Silvano Casulli even named the asteroid 185325 Anupabhagwat in her honour !
Niladri Kumar
Niladri Kumar began his tryst with the sitar at the age of four under the tutelage of his father Kartick Kumar , a disciple of Ravi Shankar ’ s . He went on to collaborate with many musical stalwarts , ranging from John McLaughlin to AR Rahman . His 2008 album Zitar makes for essential listening . After all , this was the album that introduced the world to Kumar ’ s titular invention . To put it simply , the zitar is a combination of the guitar and the sitar . Instead of the sitar ’ s twenty strings , Kumar ’ s instrument comprised of five strings along with an electronic pickup . In fact , he didn ’ t limit the zitar to just classical music . One can hear Kumar ’ s zitar skills even on mainstream film tracks like Crazy Kiya Re ( from Dhoom 2 ) and Alvida ( from Life in a ... Metro ).
Ayan Sengupta
A rising star in the sitar space , 30-year-old Ayan Sengupta again hails from the Senia Maihar gharana and has collaborated with Purbayan Chatterjee on several occasions . After winning a junior scholarship under the Government of India in 2003 , he found further acclaim as n ITC Sangeet Research Academy musician scholar . To get a glimpse of Sengupta ’ s instrumental prowess , listeners can check out the seventh episode from the digital instrumental reality show Life is Music . Assisted by Purbayan Chatterjee and his band 1023MB , the young sitarist played a composition called Red Rain . Another classic is the VR video covering his performance of the Raag Patdeep during 2019 ’ s Darbar Festival .