Important to curate classical music shows properly: Bickram Ghosh

For tabla maestro Bickram Ghosh, it is very important to curate a classical music show properly. According to him, curation is the key, which is why he places great emphasis on how he shapes the Naad Festival, a unique fusion of traditional and contemporary sounds.

“I did it with the Serendipity Arts Festival in Goa and the footfall has really gone up. People are no longer enamoured by stars, be it in cinema or music. Today, everything is about content. ‘Naad’ is a conceptually curated show, which makes it interesting and that is why people like to come,” he said.

In fact, for the world-renowned Kolkata-based percussionist, curation has become an important part of his profession.

“I have been doing so for the last 25 years. Even today, ‘Rhythmscape’ is popular. I am also a curator of the Venice Biennale 2026 and I am going to Venice next week. After that, I will be working in Germany on similar projects. So now, this is my profession too,” he said.

The fifth edition of Naad Festival, organised by Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Kolkata Kendra, in collaboration with the Shankar Ghosh Tabla Foundation and curated by Ghosh himself, will also feature the popular act of santoor legend Tarun Bhattacharya, along with the tabla maestro on Sunday at GD Birla Sabha Ghar, Kolkata.

“It has been a very popular act for the last 20 years. Wherever we perform, we sell out. The last show this year is Classi-Folk Kolab, featuring a fusion of classical and folk music,” he said. “I have positioned Naad from the very beginning as a festival that is not necessarily a classical music festival, but a classically driven one. Indian classical music has been the harbinger of several genres that have emanated from it,” he added.

The three-day festival has been divided into various sections. Ghosh is particularly excited about the ‘Fading Traditions & Emerging Sound’ segment, something he had curated for the Serendipity Arts Festival a few years ago.

“There are many instruments from the Indian classical tradition that are gradually becoming obsolete. If you look at the Shehnai, for example, how many shehnai players are there? The Sarangi has reduced by about 50 per cent or more. I think only three people in the country play the ‘Surbahar’. So, these are the three instruments we are focusing on in this section. I am presenting them in a slightly modern format, with keyboard accompaniment, to give a sense of a contemporary soundscape,” said Ghosh.

The festival will also introduce Indrayuddh Majumdar’s new instrument, an electric sarod that he has created. Other sections include a sitar recital by Kushal Das, Raga to Celluloid, which showcases the influence of ragas in Bollywood music and Dances of India, where Jaya Seal Ghosh and Preeti Patel will present various dance forms of India.

Ghosh doesn’t mince words when he speaks about how Kolkata’s youngsters have taken to classical music; the demand has only surged over time. Recently, he also joined Anoushka Shankar and Arijit Singh on the stage in Kolkata, where the latter sang ‘Maya Bhora Raati’, a Bengali song rendered by Lakshmi Shankar and composed by the late sitar maestro Ravi Shankar.

“I have an extremely close relationship with Anoushka. She called me and asked me to join. Later, she told me that Arijit would be joining too. Arijit is a huge star, but he is an extremely good human being. His respect for seniors and his musical sincerity are unparalleled. People still call him a Bollywood star, but he is doing his own music today. I think Anoushka did something wonderful that day by bringing us all together and creating a moment. Through this, we all remembered Pt Ravi Shankar most importantly,” said the composer of acclaimed films like ‘Jal’, ‘Little Zizou’ and ‘Dear Maa’.