Kaushiki Chakraborty

Maestros

Kaushiki Chakraborty is an Indian classical vocalist and the daughter of Ajoy Chakraborty. Groomed at Sangeet Research Academy, she is one of the exponents of Patiala gharana. Her repertoire covers Khyals and 'semi-classical' Thumris. At age ten, she started learning Indian classical music at the academy of Jnan Prakash Ghosh who was also her father's guru. Later, she joined the ITC Sangeet Research Academy from where she graduated in 2004, and was also groomed by her father at Shrutinandan, his school of music in Kolkata. She has not only specialized in rendering of Khayals and Thumri but she has also learned Carnatic music from Vidwan Balamurali Krishna from 2002. Kaushiki Chakraborty has participated in many major concerts. Apart from rendering Khayal in her performances, she has occasionally adopted lighter forms of music. She performed at the Doverlane Music Conference from the age of 20 and continued participating for the next 5 years. In her recitals, she presents a mature and rhythmical swing succeeded by unrestrained taans in three and-a-half octaves. She has performed extensively across India and abroad and has been acclaimed as "torchbearer of the Patiala tradition" from India for her musical performances. Kaushiki Chakraborty has formed an exclusive women's musical group called the "Sakhi" (meaning, friend) which is a forerunner in classical music in the country to "celebrate womanhood" and as a dedication to the famous mythological and historical women of India. She has been the recipient of many awards. She received the Jadu Bhatta award in 1995, favourably mentioned and appreciated after her opening song at the 27th annual ITC Sangeet Sammelan in New Delhi in 1998, and received Outstanding Young Person in 2000. She received the BBC Award (2005) for outstanding achievement in music when she was 25 years old. She has also received Sangeet Natak Academys Ustad Bismillah Khan Puraskar in 2010 for Hindustani Vocal Music, and the 2013 Aditya Birla Kalakiran Puraskar. She has also received "Shera Bangali Samman 2017" by ABP ANANDA.