A pair of visiting musicians Friday September 26 gave students and instructors at the School of Music a chance to delve into the world of Indian classical music.

Purbayan and Anubrata Chatterjee, two prominent young classical artists in India, put on a workshop, complete with sample performances, to educate and entertain Seychellois musicians of all ages.

The Chatterjees, who are brothers, both started with their respective instruments at an early age.  Purbayan began playing the sitar, a guitar-like instrument, when he was 5, and Anubrata first graced the tabla, resembling a double drum set, at the age of 3.

Purbayan’s experience can be shown by the inch-long nails on his little fingers, which he said are a staple for any sitar player as they help them reach the distant strings on the unwieldy instrument.

The artists said that the sitar and the tabla, which are fairly prevalent in Indian classical music, complement each other perfectly, with the sitar providing the treble and the tabla supplying the bass for a “complete sound.”

Indian classical music performed on the two instruments, they said, although fairly regimented in terms of the framework of its musical composition, give artists a great degree of flexibility to be creative.  Purbayan said that 80 percent of the notes they play during any given concert are improvised, even though such improvisation is attached to certain guidelines.

“As long as you abide by the rules, you can improvise,” he said.  “It’s like life – you can live life on your own terms, but you have to certainly follow rules.”

Such strict rules, said Purbayan, also allow Indian artists to interchange with other tabla and sitar players.

“Our music and our discipline is in such a way that I can play with any tabla player and feel at home,” he said.

Purbayan and Anubrata said they are not always performing together, and that they frequently play with other artists, provided there is a sitar or a tabla to complement each other.

Purbayan said on occasion he had even played with the tabla player who visited Seychelles in August for India’s Independence Day celebrations.  Mixing and matching among Indian artists, he said, was quite common.

The music workshop was also attended by the Indian High Commissioner, His Excellency Malay Mishra.  After the workshop, Purbayan and Anubrata performed a concert at the Commission.

Another workshop has also been scheduled for Tuesday.  Mr Mishra said that Tuesday’s workshop would help prepare both the Indian and Seychellois artists for a jointly performed concert on October 2 at the National Theatre to commemorate the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

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