NEW YORK CITY (TIP): This past Sunday, October 27, saw a major highlight of the 2024 NYC Indian classical music calendar as the Suromurchhana foundation for the Indian classical arts honored tabla torchbearer Padma Shri Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri with its first annual Pt. A. Kanan & Vidushi Malabika Kanan Award. With a full complement of NYC’s Hindustani musical luminaries and literati in the front row, the evening opened with a Hindustani-Carnatic vocal jugalbandi by Suromurchhana musicians Smt. Namaami Karmakar and Smt. Samyukta Ranganathan. They were ably accompanied on tabla by Sri Amit Chatterjee, harmonium by Sri Anirban Chaktraborty, and mridangam by Sri Kabilan Jeganathan.

After the award ceremonies for the guest of honor, Pt. Chaudhuri ascended to the stage to join Suromurchhana founder, vocalist Pt. Sanjoy Banerjee – again with Sri Anirban Chakraborty on harmonium – for an engrossing odyssey through a set of evening ragas.

On stage, after the concert, Pt. Chaudhuri expressed his great enjoyment of the music and the event overall. As the recipient of many major awards, he said that this award especially touches his heart because of his personal connection with the late Pt. A. Kanan who was an important source of support early in his career. The event was made possible in part, with funds from the New York State Council on the Arts.