Sandipan Samajpati. Sticking to the roots

When the prestigious Aditya Vikram Birla Kalakiran Puraskar is distributed on November 12, Sandipan Samajpati, one of the two recipients, would be performing at Canberra, Melbourne and Brisbane.

But such awards, feels the young vocalist, are important because ?they are an assurance that I am on the right path?.

?I look forward to the time when I can accept the award at a later function,? he says, packing his bags for Australia at his south-Calcutta residence.

Sitting in the company of an array of tanpuras in his spacious riyaz room, Sandipan says that the only way to be a musician is to love music and immerse oneself completely in it. A disciple of Pandit Manas Chakraborty (son of the legendary Sangeetacharya Tarapada Chakraborty), Sandipan has, over the past decade, distinguished himself as an exponent of khayals and thumris of the Kirana gharana.

He has several awards to his credit, such as the Surrendra Paul Award, Ramkrishna Bua Smriti Puraskar and the Jadubhatta Purashkar, and an enviable list of performances in India and abroad.

?The award is for outstanding achievement by a singer aged between 25 and 40. It is special this year because the person getting the Kalashikhar Puraskar for lifetime achievement will be Gangubai Hangal,? says Sandipan?s father, reputed footballer Sukumar Samajpati, who took up singing after retirement.

Music, sports and art are all in the Samajpati family. Sandipan?s mother, a scientist, is also a ?gifted singer?. The living room walls are adorned with portraits of his artist grandfather and his great grandfather, who was a kirtania.

As Sandipan?s wife Salma is a ghazal singer herself, one wonders what their one-and-a-half-month-old would grow up to be.

Australia is a new frontier because not too many classical musicians from India have been there, feels Sandipan. ?The European audience is surprisingly sensitive and discerning. They may not understand the Hindi bandishes but they comprehend the emotions.?

But nothing beats performing in India. ?The response from a live audience contributes greatly to a singer?s success,? says Sandipan, adding that he would be saving his best for his annual solo at GD Birla Sabhagar later in November.