We lost Pandit Sarathi Chatterjee today. He was a respected artiste and a good boss too. He was UPSC batch of 88. He had taken VRS.
Sarathi Chatterjee was one of the foremost Hindustani Classical vocalists in India. Born in a musical family, Sarathi received his initial training from his father, Prof. Arun Kumar Chatterjee, a highly respected and accomplished representative of the Kirana Gharana, and from his mother Smt Shefali Chatterjee. Even as his early spark of talent matured into musical sophistication, artistry and virtuosity, Sarathi has continued his musical "sadhana" under the guidance of the celebrated vocalists Pandit Rajan-Sajan Mishra of the Benaras Gharana. Thus, Sarathi's music now blends the elements of Benares Gharana into the Kirana Gharana "gayaki" of his original training. This has resulted in a unique musical expression in his singing.
Sarathi's performances were characterized by his depth of expression, purity of tone, the systematic development of Vistaar, the highly complex yet well structured "sargams", and sizzling "taans" which develop and portray the emotional content of his chosen raga. Apart from Khayal Gayaki, Sarathi is also an accomplished performer of romantic musical styles such as Thumri and of devotional music such as Bhajans
An 'A' Grade artist of the All India Radio and Doordarshan & 'Outstanding' category musician in ICCR panel Sarathi got awarded a junior fellowship by the Ministry Of Human Resource Development, Govt. of India for research on 'Different Styles of Thumri' in 1998. Sarathi had his A.I.R National prog of music in 1998 & 2011, National Prog of music at Doordarshan in 2004 & Akashvani Sangeet Sammelan during 2008. Apart from his musical accomplishments, Sarathi also holds a Bachelor's degree in Rubber and Plastic Technology from Calcutta University.
Pt. Sarathi Chatterjee was actively involved in scientific research collaboration with Department of Psychology, University of Calcutta, Kolkata. Research activities mostly focused on the psychological impact of Music. Recently he was acting as Co-investigator in an extensive research in the field of Forensic Psychology (research project under Govt of India).
Sarathi performed regularly at the major music festivals in India including such prestigious festivals at the ITC Sangeet Sammelan in Calcutta, Saptak festival in Ahmadabad, Sangeet Natak Akademi festival in Aurangabad, Dinanath Mangeshkar festival in Goa, Vishnu Digambar Sangeet Samaroh, NDMC morning raga at the Nehru park Delhi, Sankatmochan festival Varanasi, ICCR concerts in New Delhi etc.
Prasar Bharati Parivar deeply condoles the sad demise of Pandit Sarathi Chatterjee and prays to Almighty to give strength to the bereaved family
Source : Basudha Banerjee, PEX