Conscious of leaving a legacy behind: Bickram Ghosh on Sangeet Natak Akademi Award

For tabla maestro and composer Bickram Ghosh, there was a feeling of déjà vu when he was conferred the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (Akademi Puraskar) on Thursday in the contemporary category by the President of India, Droupadi Murmu. Almost 23 years ago, his father, Pandit Shankar Ghosh, was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in tabla.

“It’s a feeling of happiness and déjà vu. This is the highest music award in the country. Baba got it 23 years ago and now I have received it too. It’s a huge honour. My cousin brother, tabla exponent Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri, also received the SNA fellowship. So, three of us in the family now have the coveted award,” he told the ‘Millennium Post’.

For Ghosh, the award is more special because he received it for his contribution to contemporary music. “I haven’t worked only as a tabla player or a composer. Of course, as a tabla player, I have performed with Ali Akbar Khan, Pandit Ravi Shankar and Shivkumar Sharma. I have been instrumental in heralding a new era of fusion music in India too,” said the tabla wizard, who has composed for more than 50 films.

He admitted that the Akademi Puraskar has bestowed more responsibilities on him. “I am conscious of leaving a legacy behind, which is solid. Yes, when you are given an award of such high esteem, you become all the more conscious. The quality of work cannot be compromised at any cost,” said Ghosh, who played on the Grammy-winning album ‘Full Circle’ with Pandit Ravi Shankar.

Meanwhile, he is happy with the way the audience has accepted the qawwali song from the latest music album, ‘Manmarzee’. “This is my second collaboration with Hariharan ji and the album has come out beautifully, with songs ranging from qawwali, blues and Sufi to retro,” he said.

On Thursday, a total of 128 artistes from the field of music, dance, theatre, traditional, folk and puppetry were given the awards in New Delhi.