Born on 24th November 1931, Pt. Santosh Banerjee is a master player of the sitar and surbahar. Initially trained by Sri Aparesh Chatterjee, he later became disciple of the legendary Beenkar and torchbearer of the Rampur Senia Gharana, Ustad Mohammed Dabir Khan, who had made Kolkata his home. His association with Ustad Dabir Khan Saheb continued for nearly 25 years till the demise of the Ustad. From the Ustad, Pt. Santosh Banerjee learnt Dhrupad-Dhamar, typical `Dhrupadi Baaz` on Sitar and also the regal, almost extinct instrument, `Surbahar`. Today he is one of the few artistes who sincerely performs the traditional `baaz` (style of playing) on Surbahar.

Emotion and romanticism perfectly blended into the traditional purity of Khandar Vani along with tuneful alap, vistar and variation in the rhythmic pattern are the outstanding features of his performance.

Pandit Santosh Banerjee is former Head of the Department of Instrumental Music, Rabindra Bharati University. He has conducted innumerable lecture-demonstrations and seminars in Universities in India and abroad and has participated in many prestigious music festivals all over India.

Prof. Banerjee's wife Smt Chhabi Banerjee is an illustrious vocalist of the Sahaswan Gharana. His only daughter and disciple, Smt. Sahana Banerjee, is one of the most accomplished and outstanding female sitar players of India.

Visit http://www.sahanabanerjee.com for more information.