My Musical Lensography 7……
“Heavens Call for a Maestro s Solo”………..
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We all silently witnessed so many deaths since 2020.Yet another alarming, frightening, mournful and worst news.This time it’s Our Subhankar Da, a victim of post COVID-19 .
A permanent loss for a family,Indian Classical Music,Music Industry, Music listeners,Fans and professional Musicians.
R.I.P Tabaliya Great Pt Subhankar Banerjee .Let Almighty bless your soul and you rest in peace in the highest of the heavens with dignity.
On a black listed darkest afternoon on 25/8/2021 around 1.10 pm at Medica hospital Kolkata, our most beloved Pt. Subhankar Banerjee,the Tempo and Rhythm (Laya and Taala) Wizard of Tabla, passed away leaving us all in tears, grief and an unending trauma.
This 20th August 2021 Subhankar da only had just completed his 55th Birthday.
Even after 2 vaccines after a long battle against COVID-19, for months, The Tabla Maestro fought until, he lost for the first time, to the Last Curtain call named death. It’s so ruthlessly final.
Doctors, Family and Musician Friends are all defeated at the very end even after implementing numerous trials.
Though he was under ECMO support( Lungs), but later on gradually he had a Renal (kidney) failure and finally expired due to multi Organ failure.
Can even one trace how much shocking would this sudden, painful departure be as he was getting better gradually.His Wife, Son and daughter, even we were expecting him to be on the riders seat again.
But……….No……
Man proposes and God Disposes. This is unthinkable ,unaccountable.
Subhankar da’s existence in this Musical Industry, Music, Reyaz, Teaching,
Performances will be missed badly by mankind.
Just for instance, take Pt Subhankar Banerjee’ s Micro beat skills, as if he was always into An auto action to think out of the box .For example, treating all rhythm cycles be it 3/4,5/8,7/8 or name any… in term of 16 beat cycles with micro fractions ,his brain faculty was more likely of a mathematical genius.His thoughts, his Multi talented being will be mournfully recalled and missed by too many.
For him everything was a piece of cake.Mingling all Gharanas together, he made his own mark with sheer talent and creativity.
Pt Subhankar da excelled in tabla Lahara, Solos, Peshkar, Tukra, Tehaai, Laykari etc are always to be remembered for generations.
This International Figure initially had Respected Manik Das(Banaras Gharana) and later Pt.Swapan Siva(Farukabad Gharana) as his Gurus.
But the unique thing was that he was a self groomed man with wide openness all over.
Respect for all Gharanas, styles and techniques made him the complete one he used to be.
Subhankar da had Years of Performance experiences with great likes of Pt Hari Prasad Chaurasia ji, Ustad Amjad Ali ji, Ustad Rashid Khan, Birju Maharaj ji, Pandit Tejendra Narayan Mazumdar and many, many more.
A new twist in this story might swing quite a few that Tabla Maestro Subhankar Banerjee was also a pretty good vocal artiste and harmonium player.He had few vocal albums to his credit, based on compositions of his Respected Mother and vocal Guru(Late Mrs Kajal Rekha Banerjee)and few current composers too.
“Subhankar da”, it’s for you to know”, it’s a saying now. Many Ustads, Pandits and Maestros are crying and orating that whom would they play with and rely on in the toughest riff section in your sudden absence?
