If at one time, he failed in school, today he?s a class apart, playing at sold-out concerts across the globe with some of the biggest stars in the musical firmament. If there was a time, he counted the coins in his pocket, today he needn?t worry about money matters what with offers pouring in from all quarters. If at one time, he owned just a couple of shabby shirts, today, he?s known for his eclectic taste in clothes, always sporting as he does the most colourful kurtas. Yes, tabla maestro Tanmoy Bose has come a long way indeed and life, as he knew it, has undergone a sea change. Yet there remain, ever since the early days, two constants in Tanmoy?s world ? his all-abiding passion for music and his enduring love for Bonnya, his school crush and wife of 14 years.

His career at an all-time high, Tanmoy is currently working on a couple of prestigious projects. The first of these is a concert with the city?s police academy today, which will see Tanmoy and his band of merry men joining forces with Calcutta Police?s brass and bagpipe bands ? a first in 150 years for the police troupe never teams up with civilians. The second project on Tanmoy?s plate is scoring the music for actress June Maliah?s directorial debut, Butterfly. If that?s not enough, the gifted musician also has his hands working overtime for a yet-untitled percussion-based Hindi solo album as well as another one called Drum Dreams. That?s not to mention the endless touring for concerts with such luminaries as Pandit Ravi Shankar and Ustad Amjad Ali Khan among others.

While Tanmoy?s love for music endures, he also remains totally in sync with wife Bonnya. Theirs is a love story rooted in music. A gifted sitarist, Bonnya was a national scholarship holder but gave up a promising career in music because she reckons, ?one celebrity in the family is quite enough?. Now working as a public relations and event manager for Clown Town, an amusement park on the fringes of the city, Bonnya shuttles between work and home, playing wife and companion to Tanmoy and mother to their two boys, Shiladitya and Aryaditya.

Tanmoy on Bonnya

Bonnya is both my biggest fan and my harshest critic. While she?s effusive in her praise when I?ve performed particularly well, she can also bring me crashing down to earth when a performance has been ?ordinary?. But that?s exactly what any musician needs, as at times, one?s ego tends to get a little over- pampered.

That?s just the way Bonnya is. With her, it?s always straight-talk or no talk. She?s not one to mince words and insists on calling a spade a spade. But at times, I do tend to worry as not everyone can handle her outspoken nature.

I saw Bonnya for the first time on television. She was playing the sitar on Tarunder Jonnyo, a musical programme on Doordarshan and I was immediately drawn to her. Coincidentally, I learned that she was a student of Class VII at South Point. I too, studied there and was just a year her senior. After that, I made it a point to get to know her and we would spend hours discussing music at school and at her home.

While I knew all along that Bonnya was the one for me (failing in Class IX was a ruse to spend more time with her), I never had the courage to tell her. But then finally in 1987, after my Dover Lane concert, I couldn?t contain my feelings any longer and proposed to her.

Although Bonnya?s family knew me as the mischievous classmate who?d come over often, her mother was opposed to our marriage. I guess she just couldn?t accept Bonnya marrying a struggling musician. We were estranged from her for about four years. But once our first son was born, she came around and now, all is well.

The initial years of marriage were tough but Bonnya went out of her way to make it easy for me. She has always been my biggest support. With no steady income for the first one and half-years of our marriage, it was Bonnya who ran our home, teaching at Patha Bhavan and freelancing for The Statesman. It?s always easier to go separate ways. Struggling and staying together is infinitely more difficult. We chose to take the difficult path and today, we?re stronger because of that.

Bonnya on Tanmoy

When we were kids in school, Tanmoy used to be a brat of the first order, playing all day, neglecting his studies and eating everyone?s tiffin. Yet when it came to music, he was dead serious. I recognised this zeal in him from the very beginning. I could see it in his eyes ? the desire to create and the need to perform.

Initially it was a love-hate relationship that we shared. Tanmoy was everything I was not ? he was loud and dominating and I didn?t appreciate that. In fact, the very first time we spoke, he threatened me, demanding that I don?t play with any other tabla player, only him. However, over time, my feelings for him slowly developed into love.

When I was in college, my dad passed away and my mom began looking for a prospective match for me. It was at this time that Tanmoy became a lot more serious. He came up to me and reminded me of his proposal way back when I was in the seventh standard. At the time I had thought he was joking. Apparently, he was not.

I married Tanmoy because I fell in love with the person he was. He?s extremely caring and giving ? not every musician will share important contacts with others in the game, but Tanmoy always did. Also, even though he hailed from an affluent family, Tanmoy never put his hand out in front of his parents. If he didn?t have money, he did without things. I really admire this trait. As a person, he?s very calm and composed, never one to show his displeasure. I don?t quite agree with this, as I?m exactly the opposite. I also don?t like the fact that he smokes and constantly wants to party. But these niggling things aside, what really matters to me is our deep friendship. We?ve been through the highs and lows of life together and I wouldn?t have it any other way.