Kalika Prasad Bhattacharya

A great singer who has a great mind. Singing is a great patient for a singer who sings for other to refresh their mind and soul. This is really a great achievement for an artist who do a great jobs for other.

Kalika Prasad Bhattacharya (1970 – Mar 7, 2017) was an Indian folk singer and researcher. He was born and raised in Silchar, Assam. He went on to study comparative literature at Jadavpur University. His musical inspiration was his uncle Ananta Bhattacharya.[2] In 1999, he co-founded the band Dohar with the intent to revive the folk music tradition of Northern and Eastern Bengal. He also contributed music to a number of movies. His last movie was Bhuban Majhi (2017). He was associated with the popular Zee Bangla Sa Re Ga Ma Pa, a renowned Bengali music reality show. His last concert was in the Baguihati Krishi Mela.

Early life

Music was an intrinsic part of Bhattacharya’s home at Silchar, Assam. Growing up amidst rhythm & tune, learning to play the tabla happened as naturally as he learned to take his first faltering step. His fascination with the tabla gradually propelled him towards various ethnic percussion. While learning to play this, he also trained in vocal music. His keen interest in music eventually inclined him towards the folk music of Bengal and northeastern India. Thus, began his search for traditional folk songs which are vibrant, melodious and unanimous folk tunes that were always there unnoticed and unidentified. In 1995, he enrolled at Jadavpur University in the Comparative Literature department. In 1998, he got a research grant from "India foundation for the arts"[3] for "Industrialization and Folk music" and went to Bangalore

I draw this sketch when I know him after his death, that was an "Car Accident". It was really sad news for his fan who love him very much.

I went Bangladesh Shilpokola Academy to attend his stabbing to death news.There came lots of singer who sings and pray for his better next life.They miss them and cried for his miserable death.

Nobody still this earth for a long time but somehow he left this earth.

I listen his songs whose are sung by his fan who loved him very much. It was really a great experience for me to attend this program. After this program I had decided that i will sketch this great singer.

I tell you more details about Kalika Prasad Bhattacharya .

Dohar

Bhattacharya formed Dohar,[4] a group of folk musicians, in 1999 to make the unnoticed folk songs flowing for time immemorial reach innumerable people under his creative direction. Dohar's presentation is uniquely original. Their performance amazingly merge the urban feelings with their commitment to the roots; research and entertainment, being inseparably entwined. Dohar has already released nine albums of folk songs directed by Kalika from Concord records, Sony music & Sa re ga ma (HMV). Dohar's fourth album – "Bangla" is a collection of Rabindra Sangeet and folk songs. The concept of the album is a dialogue between Rabindra Sangeet & folk music based on its thematic reading. Dohar was impaneled by Indian Council for cultural relations (ICCR).

Musical career

Bhattacharya sang few playback songs in Hindi and Bengali movies. His songs in Hindi film include Gumshuda, directed by Ashoke Viswanathan. In the year 2007, he sang for the Bengali film Chaturanga directed by Suman Mukhopadhyay. In the year 2008, he sang for the Bengali film Moner Manush (golden peacock award winner) which is an India-Bangladesh joint project directed by Goutam Ghose. It is a feature film based on the novel by Sunil Gangopadhyay on Fakir Lalan Shah's life & philosophy. Bengali film Jaatishwar was a national award (Rajat Kamal) winner movie directed by Srijit Mukherjee, where Bhattacharya sang in the year 2014. In 2012, Bhattacharya wrote various research oriented articles which were published in various national and international journal and news papers. He also did music for eminent theater groups like Nandikar, Kalyani Natya Charcha and Tritiyo Sutro.

Besides, Bhattacharya was the pivotal personality at a seminar on Dr. Hazarika during that program in Dhaka. Apart from playback in many popular Bengali & Hindi movies, he has given music direction in the films like "Selfie" directed by Sovan Tarafdar,[5] "Bhuban Majhi" directed by Fakhrul Arefin (Bangladesh),[6] "Bishorjan" directed by Koushik Ganguli,[7] "Rosogolla" directed by Pavel and "Sitara" directed by Ashish Roy.

Devotion to Folk music

Bhattacharya was fully devoted towards the songs of soul and heart of rural Bengal. This is reiterated from his most recent occupation as one of the founder-organizers of "Sahaj Parav"[8]- an annual root music festival, one of its kinds in India, looking to celebrate the diversity and variety of folk forms of arts and crafts in greater south Asia, with a deliberate focus on Bengal. Through this, Kalika's commitment to the proliferation of the traditional arts is explicit and once again confirms his pledge for the development and rediscovery of the lost tunes of the soil. Kalika was also can safely be attributed on as a Tagorian scholar. His "Ajab Kudrati‟, is also an unparalleled dramatic presentation relating an aspect of Lalan Fakir with Tagore. This proves his unique innovative idea at the dramatic craftsmanship as well.

The TV channel Zee Bangla established that Bhattacharya's genius should not only be limited to the Bengalis, but should be expanded also to the people cutting across the language barrier just like Punjabi folk songs. He promoted Bengali folk music in the program Sa Re Ga Ma Pa,[9] and got worldwide acclamation. Following the death of Bhupen Hazarika, Bangladesh government organized a memorable program as a token of tribute to the maestro where Bhattacharya led Dohar dished out unforgettable numbers of Dr. Hazarika.

Awards

Bhattacharya received the "Sangeet Samman award” from the government of West Bengal for his unique creation and musical excellence in 2013.

He Received Cultural Ambassador of North East Award From Bytikram Group, Guwahati in 2013.

Death

He died in a road accident near Gurap village in Hooghly district on 7 March 2017, aged 47