Kaushiki Chakraborty, vocal

The journey that started from home under the tutelage of mother Chandana Chakraborty and father Ajoy Chakrabarty lead to Kaushiki’s first major concert at the age of 16 at the India Habitat Centre in Delhi. The audience comprised a few of the greatest names in Hindustani music, including Zakir Hussain, Alla Rakha Khan, Sultan Khan, Amjad Ali Khan et al. The verdict of that evening was unanimous: the next big phenomenon in Hindustani music has arrived.

Kaushiki Chakraborty chose to adapt the tenets of the Patiala gayaki to suit her own voice and temperament. She tempered down the strong aakars and the weighty gamaks to adhere to a more feminine sensibility. Her understanding of femininity is a balance between lilt and power. Her gayaki adequately expresses this balance, as it strides effortlessly across khayal and semi-classical genres and beyond.