Tanmoy Bose is one of the most eminent Indian Classical musicians of the contemporary era. Besides being a Tabla player, he is also a prolific percussionist experimenting with multiple other forms of music, collaborating with various artistes on numerous projects and also works as a composer in films. He started his musical training at the age of seven learning vocal music from Pandit Maharaj Banerjee and harmonium from Pandit Mantu Banerjee. He subsequently shifted to table and began to train with Pandit Kanai Dutta, and after his death, continued with Pandit Shankar Ghosh. Right from his college days, he began performing with Ustad Amjad Ali Khan and soon Pandit Ravi Shankar asked him to accompany him in his world tours. Numerous accomplishments and achievements had followed including playing with the stalwarts and appearing on two Grammy winning albums ‘Concert for George’ and ‘Full Circle’. He had also done some pioneering work in fusing classical and folk music with western forms. Some of his renowned projects include Taaltantra, Sound of Soil, Baul and Beyond and Rock Qawwali to name a few.
Talking about the binary of folk and classical music, Tanmoy Bose recalls the words of his ethnomusicologist friend. However, he feels that both these forms together form the basis of every music all over the world. But due to the lack of interest among the youth in our country, these pure forms are facing a cultural crisis. Trying to speculate about the factors, which might have resulted in such a scenario, Tanmoy Bose talks about adapting a modern soundscape to attract the youth. He also opens up about his passion and what he calls his roots in folk music. In an attempt to do something for their sustenance and recognition, both the art and artistes, he had undertaken a number of projects over the years collaborating with a number of musicians. In a number of cases, these unseen, unheard of musicians turned out to be success stories.
However, he is not one for denying his calling for Classical music. He not only keeps his calendar filled with classical performances round the year and across the globe, but also talks enthusiastically about the classical percussion form. He claims the Indian classical percussions to be the most developed and advanced form anywhere in the world. It has a language like structure which leads to rich possibilities in music as apparent in the rich tradition itself. But at the same time, he also reminds that one must devote himself in learning from it. Just being complacent about it won’t result in anything.
