Kala Ramnath, the
contemporary torch bearer of the Mewati Gharana, stands today amongst
the most
outstanding instrumental musicians in the North Indian classical genre.
Born
into a family of prodigious musical talent, which has given Indian
music such
violin legends as Prof. T.N. Krishnan and Dr. N. Rajam, Kala's genius
with the
violin manifested itself from childhood. Kala began playing the violin
at the
tender age of three under the strict tutelage of her grandfather
Vidwan.
Narayana Iyer. Simultaneously she received training from her aunt Dr.
Smt. N.
Rajam. For fifteen years she put herself under the training of Mewati
vocal
maestro, Sangeet Martand Pandit Jasraj. This has brought a rare vocal
emotionalism to her art. Kala’s violin playing is characterized by an
immaculate bowing and fingering technique, command over all aspects of
laya,
richness and clarity in sur. All this innate artistry and technical
brilliance
combined with a rare and exquisite emotional quality are the hallmarks
of the
style. She has taken this instrument so close to vocal music that today
her
violin is called "The Singing Violin."
Kala
has performed at all major music festivals in India, prominent among
them being
Shankarlal Festival-Delhi, Tansen Samaroh-Gwalior, Saptak- Ahmedabad,
Sawai
Gandharva Music Conference-Pune, Sankat Mochan Sangeet
Samaroh-Varanasi,
Doverlane Music Conference-Kolkata, Ustad Amir Khan Sangeet
Samaroh-Bhopal, to
name a few. In 1984, she won the President’s award in the prestigious AIR music competition. In 1988, she became
the first ever-Hindustani musician and violinist to record for CBS
India Ltd.
Besides being a brilliant and charismatic musician; Kala has also an
outstanding academic record. She is also an A-grade artiste in Radio
and
Television. Her She also has won many
prizes and awards include Pandit
Jasraj Gaurav Puraskar, Sur Ratna, and Sur
Mani. She has performed in some of the most prestigious
international
festivals internationally including World Music Festival in Montreal
Canada,
Rhythms of India in Ottawa- Canada presented by the Canadian Arts
Council,
Celebrations of India’s fiftieth year of Independence in Europe by
ICCR, North
Sea Jazz Festival in Cape Town, South Africa, Bath Festival in Bath,
England
and the South Asian Heritage Festival in Toronto Canada. She has also
extensively throughout the world including at prestigious venues like
Queen
Elizabeth Hall London and Sydney Opera House.
Of
late Kala has been experimenting with several types of genres of music
- both
within the traditions of Indian Classical music and also crossovers to
other
types of music. Her violin-vocal duets with Sanjeev Abhyankar and
violin-sitar
duets with Purbayan Chatterjee have been highly acclaimed by critics
and
connoisseurs.After having worked and experimented with some world
famous
musicians like Ray Manzarek of the Doors who plays the keyboards in the
genre
of Rock music, Eduardo Niebla who plays Spanish Flamenco music on the
Guitar,
with Eyvind Kang and his new age music, with the classical orchestra in
Bologna,
Kala now performs for an unique group called "Raga Afrika" which
is a collaboration with some world famous South African musicians
- among
them are jazz guitarists Odutayo Kunle and Lucas Khumalo and
percussionists
John Hassan and Frank Paco.
Mayookh Bhaumik
began performing on television, radio, and on stage from the age of
five. He
was acknowledged as a child prodigy by Ustad Ali Akbar Khan in 1981 at
the age
of four. Mayookh returned to India
to train under Pandit Jnan Prakash Ghosh and Ustad Sabir Khan of
the
Farukhabad Gharana. He also studied under Kathak legend Padmabhushan
Pandit
Birju Maharaj. Currently he is a student of Ustad Zakir Hussain and
also
studies the mridangam and carnatic (south indian percussion) with
Vidwan S.
Sekhar. At age seven, he won the NY State ‘Under 18 Science Award’ for
creating
an original string instrument. Mayookh entered the music industry very
early
and was a studio musician by age twelve. He has played with various
artistes of
global repute including: Ustad Vilayat Khan, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan,
Ustad
Shujaat Hussain Khan, Ustad Sabir Khan, Pandit Birju Maharaj, Pandit
Jasraj,
Pandit V.G. Jog, Pandit Monilal Nag, Tarun Bhattacharya, Niladri Kumar,
Kala
Ramnath, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and (late) Farukh Fateh AliKhan, Derek
Trucks,
Jeff Sipe, Oteil Burbridge, Dinuk Wijeratne, Kinan Azmeh etc.
Currently managed as
a recording artiste by Jon Waxman
Associates, he is a nominated associate of the GRAMMY AWARDS COMMITTEE.
He is
featured on over numerous released and internationally marketed albums,
including two solo albums "The Beginning" on Gathani Records and
'Ancestors' on rageshwari music. Mayookh
and brother Mainak, a noted filmmaker of Kolkata, are the founders of
Black
Coffee Productions, a grassroots organization that brings classical
arts to the
youth of India
through open public performances, a first in the history of the Indian
classical music scene. His public performances include two appearances
in the
Doverlane Music Conference with Kala Ramnath and Madhuboni Chatterjee,
Uttarpara Sangeet Sammelan with Sanjeev Abhyankar, and at universities
in the US
including
Harvard, MIT, Cornell, UCLA. He has also composed music for films in
India and
the United States including feature films like 'Eeshwar Mime Company',
'Herbert', 'Amra', 'Podokkhep', 'London Bridge is Falling Down',
'Vola's
Ticket', 'Aashi'. He also composes for Dance theatre productions.
