Debashish Bhattacharya

Born in Kolkata in 1963 into a family of vocalists, by age 4 Pandit Debashish Bhattacharya had already learned to play classical Indian ragas on the Hawaiian lap steel slide guitar, making his debut on All India Radio. After further training with family, at age 21, when most artists in the field would normally start promoting themselves, he chose instead to take on a 10-year period of rigorous and highly disciplined training with the great teacher Pandit Brij Bhashan Kabra, the pioneer of Indian classical guitar. During this time, he made no public performances, but developed a deep understanding of traditional music and a simply mind-boggling technical skill. Emerging from these years of hardship came a unique vision that not only preserves the classical tradition but extends it into newly imagined forms and colors.