The Olympian

Issue date: 11/7/07 Section: Features

Media Credit: Debi Prasad Chatterjee Sitar hero. Indian sitarist Debi Prasad Chatterjee will be coming to OC on Thursday. [Click to enlarge]

Olympic College students
will have an opportunity
to hear a type of music
rarely witnessed in western
society, performed by sitar
player Pandit Debi Prasad
Chatterjee and tablas player
Vishal Nagar.
"Probably one of the best
ways to listen to their music
is to close your eyes and let
the notes wash over you,"
Gerald Fowler, a sitar student
of Chatterjee, said.
Chatterjee, who has
played the sitar for nearly 50
years, grew up in Calcutta,
India where all families
have some correlation with
music. His first teacher
was his elder brother, Pt.
Biswanath Chatterjee. After
that he received training
from other numerous sitarists
- including his idol Pt.
Nikhil Banerjee and legend
Ustad Ali Akbar Khan.
"Everything I got, I
have the privilege from
him," Chatterjee said about
Banerjee.
Chatterjee has played in
performances all over the
world, including places
such as Australia, Canada,
United Kingdom, Germany,
Switzerland, Holland, Italy,
France, Austria, Iceland,
Ireland, Belgium and cities
across the United States.
Before his performance at
Olympic College he'll be
traveling to Vancouver,
British Columbia to perform.
He also just finished a
tour in Australia.
"I was well accepted.
They are asking my presence
again," Chatterjee said.
"After my performance, the
boys and girls came to me
for lessons."
Fowler said Indian classical
music is different from
any other kind of music. It's
not used for entertainment,
but mainly for meditation.
One aspect of this music is
that it changes throughout
the day, with three eighthour
cycles of the day, the
correct scale for the time
must be played. Everything
in a raga, or song, is improvised
on the spot. There are
morning, afternoon, evening
and night ragas, and all of
them are known to possibly
help health problems, such

Continued...

Page 1 of 2 next >

Article Tools