Sudhis Chandra Banerjee practices in his home at Ranchi. Picture by Srinivas.

A renowned metallurgist, a technical consultant, a tabla player par excellence and an avid photographer, Sudhis Chandra Banerjee has played each part with complete elan.

Performing in several musical concerts throughout the world, he has also conducted lecture demonstrations on tabla and Indian rhythm in cities and universities abroad.

Though this brilliant musician was not able to make his passion into a profession, he decided to make learning tabla easier for the coming generations through his book Tabla and the world of Indian rhythm.

Born in a family of landlords on the outskirts of Calcutta, Sudhis stayed at various places during his growing up years before joining IIT Kharagpur to pursue his studies in metallurgical engineering.

Ask him about his childhood and the pride is obvious in his voice.? My grandfather Satish Chandra Banerjee introduced ECG in India and was also the first person to translate the Guru Granth Saheb in Bengali,? says Sudhis. So not only academics but the family also had a deep love for culture and art, that Sudhis has imbibed completely.

His love for the tabla started when he was just nine years old.

Remembering his initial days of tabla lessons, he says, ?My first teacher was my cousin whom we all fondly called Guluda. He taught me for three to four years and then he put me under the tutelage of Pandit Biswanath Bose of the Benaras gharana,? says Sudhis.

This talim under the tabla maestro was a milestone in his life as soon enough he was able to make his own identity in gaining a mastery over the percussion instrument.

Regular coaching at his gurus place took up most of his time during this period but it soon came to a standstill when Sudhis had to move to Kharagpur to join IIT.

But even amid his tight schedule, he continued with his regular practice and even participated in various inter-college cultural festivals all over the country.

Just after completing his studies at IIT, Sudhis had to move to Calcutta to take up his first job but soon moved to Bhopal after he got a job there.

?At Bhopal I had the companionship of all music lovers, so we met up every evening for a musical session and once again I was back into the groove,? smiles Sudhis.

Sudhis met Ashit Banerjee who was a disciple of Ustad Alauddin Khan and head of the department for music at Bhopal University. ?He was a stalwart in music and I learnt a lot during my interaction with him,? says Sudhis.

But soon family responsibilities beckoned and Sudhis had to move back to Calcutta.

?My father suffered a massive heart attack and died in 1970, so I had to look for a job closer home and it was then that he joined Tata Steel in 1970 as a process metallurgist. Later, he became the head of the ring rolling division. He retired from his services in 1996 and took over as the vice-president of Usha Martin in Calcutta.

If his professional engagements took him to various parts of the world, his musical pursuits made him travel the other half.

Paris is perhaps the place where he has performed for the maximum number of times. ?These interactive lecture demonstrations serve as a great platform for musical dissemination because people abroad are very particular about music,? says Sudhis. During these musical tours he was often accompanied by his wife Lakshmishree Banerjee, reader of English department at Jamshedpur Women?s College.

?She complemented my rhythm with her melodies, during these musical sessions she explained the nuances of raga and I explained rhythm,? says Sudhis.

But with such amazing expertise in music didn?t he ever wanted to take it up as a career? ?Yes I had thought about it but those days music was not considered too good a career option and moreover being from a family of academicians, there were too many family and peer pressure that I had to abide by,? he says.

If tabla is Sudhis?s passion, photography is his favourite pastime.

?Now I take most of the photographs with my Canon A1 SLR camera which I bought from one of my trips to the US, but somehow I feel that I am still learning,? says Sudhis.

If this was not enough, he used to collect stamps and experiments with his culinary skills in his leisure time.

?My top-most aim is to publicise tabla not only among music lovers but also in the corporate world among executives and managers who would like to learn tabla as a stress reliever,? says Sudhis.

It took him almost eight years to compile the book on tabla.

He has given the book to Sangeet Natya Academy for publication. ?I have sent it to the academy, but a friend of mine from UK has also taken a copy with him, so I am now waiting lets see who publishes it first,? says Sudhis waiting for his hardwork to see the light of the day.

Today he is a retired man but runs his metallurgical consultancy firm Metacon from his home in Sonari. ?I am and have been a technical advisor for many reputed companies but these days I have slowed down on my work and take up challenges only when something excites me,? says Sudhis. With so many things on his hands, Sudhis has no doubt utilised his talents well.

Nilanjana Ghosh Choudhury