Durba Chowdhury: An artiste-teacher of Rabindra sangeet and classical music

Durba ChowdhuryPhoto: STAR

Though at present classical music may not have a sizeable audience, few artistes continue to devote their skills to this genre. Durba Chowdhury is one of them, who has spent years training in classical music and currently she is a music teacher.
Born and raised in a culturally oriented family of Chabbishpargana, West Bengal, Durba's passion for music began at an early age. Durba's mother and elder sister are both classical singers. At the age of six, she started getting taalim under their guidance.
Durba's first music teacher was Santosh Sarkar. She completed Sangeet Prabhakar, a five-year diploma course -- on both Rabindra Sangeet and Uchchango Sangeet -- from Nayaki Music College, Kolkata. After completing the diploma course, she enrolled in Visva-Bharati University, Santiniketan in 1976 and successfully completed Bachelors and Masters degree in music.
At Visva-Bharati, Durba received tutelage in Rabindra Sangeet from legendary singer Kanika Bandyopadhyay, Nilima Sen, Ashesh Bandyopadhyay, Arup Ratan Bandyopadhyay. In Uchchanga Sangeet, she trained under V.V. Wazelwar.
Durba has fond memories of her student life at Visva-Bharati and says, “Learning the intricate details of music from iconic musicians at Visva-Bharati was a dream come true.”
In 1987, Durba started working on her PhD but due to unavoidable reasons, she had to discontinue. According to the artiste, “I do intend to complete my PhD some day.”
Durba visited Bangladesh for the first time in 1985. She got married here and became a Bangladeshi citizenship in 1993.
In 1991, Durba set up a music academy named 'Gayoki' in Dhaka and is the founder principal of the academy. At present the academy offers five-year courses in Rabindra Sangeet, classical music, songs of Atul Prasad, D.L. Roy, Rajanikant and other genres. On Gayoki, the devoted artiste says, our main goal is to properly train and groom talented vocalists. Extensive training is very essential for young music enthusiasts, who aspire to be singers. To be a proficient vocalist, one must have comprehensive knowledge of grammar of music. Anyone who has a good understanding of classical music should be able to perform any kind of song effortlessly.
Durba's only album of Rabindra Sangeet, titled Dujoney Dekha Holo, was released in 1989. The album was released by Boishakhi Production.
On the current scenario of Rabindra Sangeet, Durba says, “If adding a few extra instruments and making subtle improvisations make Tagore songs more appealing to a new generation of listeners, then that endeavour should be welcomed.” She also added that there are some basic differences between renditions in Bangladesh and Kolkata due to somewhat different grammatical practices.
Rezwana Chowdhury Bonya and Mita Haque are Durba's favourite singers in Bangladesh while Kanika Bandyopadyay is her ultimate idol.