A musician evolves and establishes an identity. His voice or the musical instrument he plays acquires a definitive identity, a musical footprint. This is exactly what separates Pandit Prateek Chaudhuri from the rest of the young generation of sitar players. Listen to him once and you will be able to identify his music from a whole lot of noise.
Prateek Chaudhuri belongs to the ninth generation of sitarists of the famed Senia gharana. Trained by his father Padmabhushan Debu Chaudhuri and his father's guru Ustad Mushtaq Ali Khan, he is the latest link in the illustrious lineage that begins from Masit Sen, widely recognised as the man who gave the sitar an identity and one who turned it into an individual concert instrument. And he is a sixth generation descendant of Mian Tansen.
In a telephone chat with The Hindu MetroPlus , Prateek felt that this link was an honour and also a huge responsibility.
“I follow a tradition that is known for its faithfulness towards maintaining the purity of raga. It is heavily influenced by the Dhrupad style of singing, especially in the application of notes. The ‘murkis' and khatkas' are avoided. The purity of the notes is retained. I have held on to the tradition of playing on a sitar with 17 frets, when 18, 19 and 20 frets are the order of the day.”
Prateek's compositions are noted for its purity and precise illustration of the ragas they are based on. Serenity in the ‘alaap' and his amazing speed in the ‘tanas' provide an exhilarating contrast. He has the ability to play almost 19 notes in a second with some rare ‘tanas' or running-note passages in quick tempo.
Almost two years back Prateek played at a private concert in the city. And recently he joined Pandit Ramesh Narayan in a jugalbandi before a packed audience at Palakkad.
“Jugalbandis are okay if you are able to gel with the other artiste. But I prefer solo concerts. Of course, I enjoyed joining the 80 musicians on the famous Swarovsky Music Wattens Orchestra of Austria, and have performed jugalbandis, crossover and fusion with many acclaimed musicians. I also lead ‘Sitar Ecstasy,' a sitar fusion group, ‘Sitars of India,' an ensemble and ‘Soul of India,' an orchestra that encompasses a variety of music genres. But my heart is always for a solo concert.”
Prateek performs solo at JTPac in a concert titled ‘Indian Strings' on May 12 at 7 p.m. For details contact 9349528107 or 9349528057.