Popular North Indian classical vocalist of our times, Kaushiki Chakraborty has recently released an album entitled Pankh. In collaboration with veteran composer Shantanu Moitra and several acclaimed instrumentalists, she has recorded six tracks, which are also being launched as a web series with videos for each song.
Pankh the concert is currently touring across India with 12 shows, before heading to the United States in October. Talking to the refreshingly honest and articulate Chakraborty is always a delight.
Why did you decide to create Pankh now, at the peak of your success as a classical singer? Weren’t you apprehensive about venturing into new territory?
Yes, I was very scared. But whenever I would have done it, it would have been scary. I thought of it this way – why not now? Why wait, when it may be perceived as doing it because things are not working. I am doing this because it presents a possibility to develop as a singer. I am not doing this to prove a point or challenge anyone. There is nothing negative at all – it’s for myself.
When I ask myself what I am, the reply is: I am a singer, not just a classical singer. This perspective comes from my father, Padma Bhushan Pt Ajoy Chakrabarty, doyen of the Patiala gharana (musical lineage). He experimented with Tagore songs when no one else did, he sang modern Bengali songs, devotional music, film songs – whatever was possible at the time, he did.
I think this is the best time for me to create my own musical bridge – joining what I was given in taalim (formal training) and, after processing the knowledge for 30 years, now singing experiential music. I am not only singing what I was taught; I am singing who I am, what I have become. Pankh is about me and the things that have shaped me.
How did the idea for Pankh come about?
I have never really recorded anything other than classical albums in a big way; I had not produced music otherwise. About four or five years ago I wanted to bring out a single, not a full album. Shantanu da (Shantanu Moitra) is someone I have known for years, we had collaborated at Coke Studio. When I discussed the idea and asked if he would compose music for me, he questioned me. We spoke at length.
He asked what I wanted to sing and why. I realised that I wanted to sing to share who I am today. The concept of stories as songs was really his idea. He said: you want to tell your story through songs. It all happened very organically.
You had an impressive line-up of musicians on the album. How did they contribute to your story?
Actually, Pankh is not my album only; all the musicians think of it as theirs too. We have musicians of the calibre of Pratik Shrivastava (sarod – a plucked string instrument), Mehtab Ali Niazi (sitar – a long-necked lute), and S Akash (bansuri – bamboo flute), all celebrated soloists in their own right. The music-making process was a collaboration. It was not like: here is your line, play.
We spent literally hours, days together in the studio, working on each piece. There was no boss. Each one gave space musically for the other to shine. An album like Pankh could not have happened without the respect and love we have for each other. True music is not the frequencies we sing at; it is the thoughts behind the notes.
How different is Pankh the concert from the album?
Pankh the concert is different from the album. We are 10 musicians touring, and the concert set includes more than the six songs in the album – we present 14 songs. Since some core musicians could not travel with us, we created new arrangements. So there is no sitar or sarod in the concert.
Shantanu da and I formed a company to present 12 concerts all over India, and with several shows already completed, we have begun receiving offers from other organisers.
The reception has been mind-blowing. After singing for 30 years, I am experiencing a different energy from audiences that I had never felt before. I am so fulfilled, seeing them connect with me this way.
Was it challenging to shift from classical music to a project like this?
There is this misconception that if you can sing classical music, you can sing everything. That is simply not true. Where you produce your voice from, the breath control, handling a hand-held mic, standing and singing instead of sitting – there is so much to learn. I had to learn how to breathe with a movable mic, and I even changed the pitch of my songs.
It was like starting from scratch, which is not easy when you have attained a certain level as a singer. I had to practise and prepare for Pankh. I did not sing classical concerts for more than two months.
The concert is not just music – there are lights and videos. It is a holistic experience, not just an aural one.
Pankh was performed at Bharat Mandapam on September 6. For Chakraborty, this project is both a leap of faith and a natural evolution, carrying forward her father’s legacy of experimentation while finding her own voice.
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