Percussionists Abhijit Banerjee (left) and Taufiq Qureshi (far right) along with santoor maestro Tarun Bhattacharya (centre) turned in a brilliant rendition of raga Kirwani at Saaz Aur Awaaz, a percussion festival partnered by The Telegraph at Calcutta Club on February 19. It soon gave way to a jugalbandi with Banerjee and Qureshi. “I wanted to conceptualise a percussion festival for a long time. From folk to classical to fusion, I tried to include all. The three of us have performed together in many cities in India but it’s a first for Calcutta,” said Banerjee, who is also the founder of Dhwani Academy, a percussion academy spread across Calcutta, Los Angeles and New York. The evening — which witnessed 17 percussionists playing 33 musical instruments — began with Dhwani Academy giving away music scholarships to its 10 visually-challenged students.

Text: Malancha Dasgupta
Pictures: B. Halder