Bimalendu Mukherjee is world-renowned Hindustani classical sitar

Sitar

The 'Tablaman' is a plucked stringed instrument predominantly used in Hindustani classical music, where it has been ubiquitous since the Middle Ages...

 player, and a teacher of the Imdadkhani

Imdadkhani gharana

The Imdadkhani gharana is a North Indian school of sitar and surbahar music, stemming from the very ancient Gwalior gharana. It was created by Imdad Khan , and is also known as the Etawah gharana, after a village outside Agra where Imdad lived...

 (Etawah) gharana

Gharana

In Hindustani music, a gharānā is a system of social organization linking musicians or dancers by lineage or apprenticeship, and by adherence to a particular musical style. A gharana also indicates a comprehensive musicological ideology. This ideology sometimes changes substantially from one...

 (school),

Mukherjee is a learned and eclectic musician – although he was an Imdadkhani sitar student of Enayat Khan

Enayat Khan

Enayat Khan was one of India's most influential sitar and surbahar players in the first decades of the 20th Century. He was the father of Vilayat Khan, one of the topmost sitariyas of the postwar period....

, a full list of his teachers also includes sitarist Balaram Pathak, khyal

Khyal

Khyal is the modern genre of classical singing in North India. Its name comes from an Arabic word meaning "imagination". It is thought to have developed out of the qawwali singing style. It appeared more recently than dhrupad, is a more free and flexible form, and it provides greater scope for...

 singers Badri Prasad and Jaichand Bhatt of the Patiala and Kirana gharanas, Rampur gharana beenkar

Rudra veena

See also veenaThe rudra veena is a large plucked string instrument used in Hindustani classical music. It is an ancient instrument rarely played today...

 Jotish Chandra Chowdhury, sarangi

Sarangi

The Sārangī is a bowed, short-necked string instrument of India which is originated from Rajasthani folk instruments. It plays an important role in India's Hindustani classical music tradition...

 and esraj

Esraj

The esraj is a string instrument found in two forms throughout the north, central, and east regions of India. It is a young instrument by Indian terms, being only about 200 years old. The dilruba is found in the north, where it is used in religious music and light classical songs in the urban areas...

 maestros Halkeram Bhat (Maihar gharana) and Chandrikaprasad Dube (Gaya gharana) and pakhavaj

Pakhavaj

The pakhavaj, pakhawaj, pakuaj, pakhvaj or pakavaj is an Indian barrel-shaped, two-headed drum, the North Indian equivalent to the Southern mridangam....

 drummer Madhavrao Alkutkar. He also studied with Birendra Kishore Roy Chowdhury, the zamindar

Zamindar

A Zamindar or zemindar , was an aristocrat, typically hereditary, who held enormous tracts of land and ruled over and taxed the bhikaaris who lived on batavaslam. Over time, they took princely and royal titles such as Maharaja , Raja , Nawab , and Mirza , Chowdhury , among others...

 of Gouripur in present-day Bangladesh

Bangladesh

Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...

, who taught him the moribund sursringar (bass sarod

Sarod

The sarod is a stringed musical instrument, used mainly in Indian classical music. Along with the sitar, it is the most popular and prominent instrument in the classical music of Hindustan...

).

Mukherjee is the father and teacher of sitar player Budhaditya Mukherjee

Budhaditya Mukherjee

Budhaditya Mukherjee is a Hindustani classical sitar and surbahar player of the Imdadkhani Gharana .He was taught by his father Bimalendu Mukherjee from the age of 5, and started making a name for himself at a young age...

. His other students include Dr. Arvind V. Joshi, Aniruddha A. Joshi, Arun Moroney, Sanjoy Bandopadhyay

Sanjoy Bandopadhyay

Sanjoy Bandopadhyay is a Bengali Hindustani classical sitar player. He is primarily a disciple of Radhika Mohan Maitra and Bimalendu Mukherjee...

, Anupama Bhagwat

Anupama Bhagwat

-Early life and education:Bhagwat was born 1974 in Bhilai, India. She was introduced to playing sitar at the age of nine by her uncle. Bhagwat trained under R. N. Verma of the Maihar gharana and traveled to Bhilai at the age of 13 to train under Bimalendu Mukherjee of the Imdadkhani gharana...

, Joydeep Ghosh, Madhusudan RS (sarod

Sarod

The sarod is a stringed musical instrument, used mainly in Indian classical music. Along with the sitar, it is the most popular and prominent instrument in the classical music of Hindustan...

), Ravi Sharma, Rajeev Janardan

Rajeev Janardan

Rajeev Janardan , is a Hindustani classical sitar player of the Imdadkhani gharana , taught by Bimalendu Mukherjee. He is married to guitarist Kamala Shankar, with whom he performs. They live in New Delhi....

, Kamala Shankar

Kamala Shankar

Kamala Shankar , is a Hindustani classical guitar player. She is married to sitar player Rajeev Janardan, with whom she performs...

, Brigitte Menon.

He should not be confused with Bimal Mukherjee, a sitar player of the same generation.

External links

• Bimalendu Mukherjee bio by Anupama Bhagwat
  Anupama Bhagwat
  -Early life and education:Bhagwat was born 1974 in Bhilai, India. She was introduced to playing sitar at the age of nine by her uncle. Bhagwat trained under R. N. Verma of the Maihar gharana and traveled to Bhilai at the age of 13 to train under Bimalendu Mukherjee of the Imdadkhani gharana...