Eminent sitarist Pandit Partha Das passes away
New Delhi: Sitarist Pt. Partha Das, who was credited with inventing Trishul Angik Talas enriching the Indian classical music, breathed his last at his residence in Delhi recently. He was 70.
He is survived by wife Rita Das, musician son Siddhartha Das and daughter Kaushiki Das.
Partha Das, who had also played sitar in Satyajit Ray's 1977 Hindi film Shatranj Ke Khilari (The Chess Player) under Birju Maharaj, was conferred with the prestigious ‘Sangeet Bhushan’ award in the year 2017 for his outstanding contribution in the field of Indian classical music.
He is credited with inventing Trishul Angik Talas – ‘Triveni’, ‘Panchang’, and ‘Saptarishi’ and has also penned a book in this regard titled ‘Trishulangik Tala’ for Centre for the Cultural Resources and Training (CCRT), one of the premier government institutions working in the field of linking education with culture.
He had performed in the Radio Sangeet Sammelan and played on All India Radio (AIR) and Doordarshan, the two state-run Indian broadcasters.
During his flourishing career spanning almost three decades, Pt. Partha Das had performed extensively in England, Afghanistan, Algeria, Ghana, the Middle East, Japan, Europe, Mauritus, and Re-Union Island.
He has also been a professor at Sriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra, New Delhi and has also been associated with Kathak Kendra, New Delhi and had retired as a music teacher from Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, New Delhi.
A descendent of famous sitarist Santosh Banerjee, he had also learnt from the greats like Ustad Bahadur Hussain Khan, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan and Professor Nikhil Banerjee.
He has also lent music for television serials such as ‘Asman Kaise Kaise’, ‘Ankh Me Ankh’, and ‘Pratham Pratisruthi’.
“In Sitar, if one pillar was Pandit Ravi Shankar, the second was Ustad Vilayat Hussain and the third will always be Pt. Partha Das” commented his disciple Rajkumar, a student of Partha Das.
Paying tribute to his father, Siddhartha Das said: “Getting you as my mentor, Guru, and father is perhaps Maa Saraswati's greatest blessing to me. But I won't cry because you are always in my heart, patting my shoulder and saying, 'keep making music". Love you Baba!'.
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