Last month when I was in Melbourne I visited my first tabla teacher, Sri Debu Bhattacharya. Back in 1994, when I was working as a freshly graduated computer engineer, I started learning tabla from Debu. After a few months I went to Varanasi to learn from his father, Pt. Ashutosh Bhattacharya, aka Ashu-Babu and to many including me, Guru-ji. Guru-ji was a senior disciple of one of the bastions of Benares tabla, Pt. Kanthe Maharaj - there are some photos of him and other legendary Indian musicians in Guru-ji's Photo Gallery.
So while sitting with Debu last month, he told me "I have something I want to give you. Kanthe Maharaj gave this to my father when he was young, and then my father gave it to me when I was about 14. Do you want it?" Also while I was there he gave me some remarkable rhythms, the likes of which I've never heard before, and a delicious fish curry! :-) I'm so grateful.
So while sitting with Debu last month, he told me "I have something I want to give you. Kanthe Maharaj gave this to my father when he was young, and then my father gave it to me when I was about 14. Do you want it?" Also while I was there he gave me some remarkable rhythms, the likes of which I've never heard before, and a delicious fish curry! :-) I'm so grateful.
The pendant I received from Debu-ji, who had received it from his father and my guru-ji, who had in turn received it from the legendary Pt. Kanthe Maharaj.
Sri Debu Bhattacharya, my first guru of tabla
My altar and practice space
3 comments:
hi, shen.
I think ,Debu consider you are one of
the best successor of Khanthe Maharaj and Guruji. So he gave you such a great 家宝.
great!
Beautiful...
Yokattane!!
beautiful. Namaste from AZ USA
Gauri Pahari Das
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