<p>Sitar player Purbayan Chatterjee has built a reputation for pushing the boundaries of Indian classical music — whether through Shastriya Syndicate, the country’s first Indian classical band, or albums like ‘Stringstruck’, and ‘Unbounded-Abaad’, which brought jazz, rock and world music into dialogue with ragas. </p><p>That sensibility also found its way to the OTT series ‘Bandish Bandits’, where he performed a grunge version of ‘Garaj Garaj’ on electric sitar. His latest project continues the exploration of electronic music, progressive rock and jazz-funk. A nine-track album, ‘Feathered Creatures’ is a collaboration with Grammy-winning guitarist Mark Lettieri of Snarky Puppy.</p>.<p>These experiments began “almost as an act of rebellion”. Chatterjee belongs to the Senia Maihar Gharana, founded by Allauddin Khan. “I was always told Indian classical music is the best art form. You don’t need to look beyond it,” he says. But that only fuelled his curiosity about what lay outside it.</p><p>Shastriya Syndicate, formed in 2007, became the first expression of that rebellion. At first, the older generation, the “so-called gatekeepers”, lauded the ‘new kid on the block’. But as he gained recognition, the attitude shifted. “Why do you need to play fusion?” people asked. The criticism brought self-doubt, but he persisted until he found “the truth”.</p>.<p>The 49-year-old says cross-genre music works only when an artiste has a strong grounding in one tradition and is open to learning others. He traces this advice to acclaimed American jazz guitarist Pat Metheny. “He told me, ‘If you want to play across genres, you have to learn them. Start with 50 jazz standards, things like ‘Fly me to the moon’ and ‘My funny <br>Valentine’.” </p>.My father taught me that learning never ends: Anoushka Shankar.<p>He then listened to jazz legends like Miles Davis, Ornette Coleman and John Coltrane, after which he moved on to rock, especially the music of Mark Knopfler and Dire Straits. Later, his wife introduced him to contemporary pop songs.</p>.<p>His openness to new ideas runs through the interview. He credits the growing live entertainment scene for making it possible for him and flautist Rakesh Chaurasia to finally take their 2022 album ‘Saath Saath’ on an India tour. The delay, he says, was to ensure everything was “right”, from sound technicians to aesthetics.</p>.<p>And while there is growing criticism that social media is replacing the habit of listening to full songs with bite-sized clips, he argues it’s nothing new. “Even in the ’60s and ’70s, HMV released wax records where artistes like Bade Ghulam Ali Khan and Omkarnath Thakur recorded ragas lasting just 40 seconds,” he says, adding, “My father’s guru, Nikhil Banerjee, used to say that a great artiste can offer the same satisfaction in three minutes as in three hours.” The secret, he says, lies in rigorous training and making art with conscience.</p>
<p>Sitar player Purbayan Chatterjee has built a reputation for pushing the boundaries of Indian classical music — whether through Shastriya Syndicate, the country’s first Indian classical band, or albums like ‘Stringstruck’, and ‘Unbounded-Abaad’, which brought jazz, rock and world music into dialogue with ragas. </p><p>That sensibility also found its way to the OTT series ‘Bandish Bandits’, where he performed a grunge version of ‘Garaj Garaj’ on electric sitar. His latest project continues the exploration of electronic music, progressive rock and jazz-funk. A nine-track album, ‘Feathered Creatures’ is a collaboration with Grammy-winning guitarist Mark Lettieri of Snarky Puppy.</p>.<p>These experiments began “almost as an act of rebellion”. Chatterjee belongs to the Senia Maihar Gharana, founded by Allauddin Khan. “I was always told Indian classical music is the best art form. You don’t need to look beyond it,” he says. But that only fuelled his curiosity about what lay outside it.</p><p>Shastriya Syndicate, formed in 2007, became the first expression of that rebellion. At first, the older generation, the “so-called gatekeepers”, lauded the ‘new kid on the block’. But as he gained recognition, the attitude shifted. “Why do you need to play fusion?” people asked. The criticism brought self-doubt, but he persisted until he found “the truth”.</p>.<p>The 49-year-old says cross-genre music works only when an artiste has a strong grounding in one tradition and is open to learning others. He traces this advice to acclaimed American jazz guitarist Pat Metheny. “He told me, ‘If you want to play across genres, you have to learn them. Start with 50 jazz standards, things like ‘Fly me to the moon’ and ‘My funny <br>Valentine’.” </p>.My father taught me that learning never ends: Anoushka Shankar.<p>He then listened to jazz legends like Miles Davis, Ornette Coleman and John Coltrane, after which he moved on to rock, especially the music of Mark Knopfler and Dire Straits. Later, his wife introduced him to contemporary pop songs.</p>.<p>His openness to new ideas runs through the interview. He credits the growing live entertainment scene for making it possible for him and flautist Rakesh Chaurasia to finally take their 2022 album ‘Saath Saath’ on an India tour. The delay, he says, was to ensure everything was “right”, from sound technicians to aesthetics.</p>.<p>And while there is growing criticism that social media is replacing the habit of listening to full songs with bite-sized clips, he argues it’s nothing new. “Even in the ’60s and ’70s, HMV released wax records where artistes like Bade Ghulam Ali Khan and Omkarnath Thakur recorded ragas lasting just 40 seconds,” he says, adding, “My father’s guru, Nikhil Banerjee, used to say that a great artiste can offer the same satisfaction in three minutes as in three hours.” The secret, he says, lies in rigorous training and making art with conscience.</p>