Location: Online
Admission: Free
Open to: General public
Description: Join us for an online concert of devotional sung poetry from Bengal, featuring the musicians Dyuti Chakraborty and Rahul Krishna Bharadwaj. The concert will present songs from the genre of padabali kirtan that depict the lilas, or divine play, of the Hindu deities Radha and Krishna. Composed in a number of regional dialects of eastern India during the early modern period, the repertoire of devotional poetry presented in this concert remains central to the performative and literary culture in the region.
Dyuti Chakraborty is a sought-after singer in a number of devotional and classical styles throughout West Bengal. An All-India Radio performer, Dyuti Chakraborty has been featured on numerous recordings and television programs in the region. She has shown extraordinary keenness in Indian Classical Vocal music from a very tender age. Initially trained in Hindustani Classical Music under the guidance of Sri Dwijen Bhattacharya of Benaras Gharana, (The senior most disciple of Pt. Mohanlal Mishra & Pt. Rajan, Sajan Mishra), she later learned Padabali Kirtan under the supervision of senior teacher Sri Monoranranjan Bhattacharya (Ex. Professor of Rabindra Bharati University) and Pt. Sri Nimai Mitra of Manoharshahi Gharana. She also has learned Brij Lokgeet (Brij Folk) under the guidance of Sri Jagdish Brijwasi, and learned the melodies of Srimad Bhagwat Mahapuran under the guidance of Pt. Sri Arvind Bhai Pandya Ji Maharaj, Sriman Prem Gopal Das Brahmmachri (Iskcon) & HH Abhay Charan Bas Babaji Maharaj. For more information about Dyuti Chakraborty, see here(link is external).
Rahul Krishna Bharadwaj is a leading performer on the double-headed barrel drum known as the Shree Khol and is also an experienced producer of devotional and folk music media in West Bengal. He initially trained Hindustani vocal Classical Music under the guidance of Srimati Kakali Majumder. He also learned Srikhol / Mridanga under the supervision of senior teacher Sri Manoranjan Bhattacharya (Ex. Professor of Rabindra Bharati University) and Pt. Sri Nimai Mitra of Manoharshahi Gharana. He studied Tabla under the guidance of Sri Asit Lahiri and Pt. Sri Swapan Shiva, and Brij Lokgeet (Brij Folk) and Bhajan under the guidance of Sri Jagdish Brijwasi. He learned the melodies of Srimad Bhagwat Mahapuran under the guidance of Pt. Arvind Bhai Pandya Ji Maharaj, Sriman Prem Gopal Das Brahmmachri (Iskcon) and HH Abhay Charan Das Babaji Maharaj. He has also studied Sri Ramcharit Manas under the guidance of Sri Rajan Ji Maharaj. For more information see Rahul Bharadwaj Ji Facebook page.
Co-sponsored with South Asian Studies Council, Yale MacMillan Center and the Yale University Chaplain’s Office