Strumming success: Debpriya Thakur plays the sitar. A Telegraph picture

Ranchi, June 7: For 28-year-old Debpriya Thakur, the sitar is more than a musical instrument. It is another name for divine bliss.

Armed with this ecstasy, he would be representing the state during a Hindustani classical music programme at the India International Centre, New Delhi. He is the only artist to represent the state at the event, scheduled in June.

The city-based musician’s passion for the sitar came as a legacy of sorts. “As my father, Prashant Thakur, was a sitarist at the All India Radio, I grew up in a musical environment and began learning music from my father when I was only seven,” said Thakur.

He is currently working as a lecturer of music in the creative arts department of BIT, Mesra. “Although I did my graduation in commerce, I realised that music is my forte. This realisation made me go in for a masters degree in music,” he said.

Thakur cannot recall his first stage performance, but remembers his first brush with fame. “I won my first gold medal at the All India Music Competition, 1999. The award was special as I was the first instrumentalist from undivided Bihar to have won it. It also got me the high grade of B in music,” he said.

A gold medalist in sitar, Thakur has many achievements to his credit. He secured the first position in Sangeet Bhaskar from Pracheen Kala Kendra, Chandigarh, in 1999. A Sangeet Bhaskar and Sangeet Vibhakar from Bangiya Sangeet Parishad, Calcutta, were also received. He was also rated first at the Bihar Youth Festival in 1993.

So how does Thakur keep his passion for sitar alive in this rather musically dormant city? “I am a member of several cultural hubs. In Ranchi, Gharowa is an institution that gives me the required platform to showcase my talent,” said the artiste.

Apart from a sitar, Thakur also carries with him several memorable musical performances. “There are many, but my performance at the India Habitat Centre with Ustad Shahi Parvez gave me a real high. I also enjoyed performing at the Jharkhand Day celebrations at Pragati Maidan and at a performance in Mumbai, where I honoured with the epithet of Surmani by Sur, Shringar and Samsad,” said Thakur, who considers Pandit Ravi Shankar as his idol.