Subhayu does his riyaaz at home. Picture by Gopal Senapati

Durga and Kali Pujas are busy days for all artistes and it was no exception for budding artiste Subhayu Bhattacharya too. He had performances lined up through every festive day this year. He regaled audiences with old Bengali classics and modern songs alike, as well as the most popular Bollywood numbers. He has performed mainly in Puja special programmes in some of the malls in Calcutta. The only other performance outside Calcutta was a musical evening organised by a club in Singur. Subhayu is a rising popular singer in Howrah, who hopes to make it big in the music industry some day.

Subhayu’s natural talent for music was inherited from his maternal home, where most of the members of the family were either singers or were associated with music. Subhayu says that his first guru was his mother, Sushmita Bhattacharya. “My mother says that she had noticed my talent in music when I was a little boy. When I was four-and-half years old, I started learning classical music from Adinath Chowdhury in Ramrajatala,” said Subhayu.

After that, as he grew older, Subhayu learnt from different people. Music director Mayukh Bhowmick is a good friend of Subhayu’s and he guided him in the initial years about who to take lessons from. Subhayu went to Biman Mukhopadhyay to learn Nazrulgeeti and Puratani. “Biman babu had a huge repertoire of songs and learning from him was important for me,” said Subhayu.

Learning classical music was imperative for Subhayu along with other genres of music. He joined Ranjan Mukhopadhyay’s classes, but had to quit after the artiste fell ill.

At present, Subhayu is training in classical music from Debojyoti Basu. He also learnt songs by Jatileswar Mukhopadhyay. “I can sing these songs only at appropriate places and occasions. Otherwise they will not be appreciated,” said Subhayu.

Although many people say that he is a good singer, Subhayu believes that his best critic is his mother. “I always ask my mother about how she feels about my performances. Till date, there have been very few instances when she has praised my singing. She always finds faults, just to make me sing better,” said Subhayu.

As a boy, Subhayu was selected for many radio programmes like Sishu Mahal, Kisalay and Antardesiya Anushthan. He was also selected from All India Radio for a Sishu Utsav. He has performed at reality shows like Bhalobasi Tai Gayi on Akash Bangla and Sa Theke Sa on ETV Bangla and also in a musical programme on Tara Muzik called Down Memory Lane. Apart from these, Subhayu has been to 104.8 Oye FM for a Pujar Adda and a programme on Rabindrasangeet.

While pursuing his passion in music, Subhayu also completed his studies and started working. In 2011, he participated in the ABP Ananda’s Ananda Anchor Hunt contest, where he was the first runner-up.

“I got a job with a media house and have a hectic schedule but I always try to spare some time for music, specially for my riyaaz. I will not be able to sing if I do not practise. I generally practise in the morning or in the evening, depending on my schedule,” said Subhayu.

At public performances, he has to sing all kinds of songs. However, Rabindrasangeet is his personal favourite. “I try to start every performance with a Rabindrasangeet,” said Subhayu.

As music is his passion, Subhayu plans to do some experimental work with it. “I plan to start a group with others who are interested in music and theatre, where we can perform srutinatak that will be weaved with music or songs of different kinds, not just Rabindrasangeet, but other genres as well,” signed off the budding singer.

More about Subhayu

DoB: June 24,1982

Born in: Calcutta

Education: MBA

Family: Parents

Loves: Net surfing, chatting, watching movies

Hates: Lies