Internationally acclaimed sitar virtuoso and composer Purbayan Chatterjee has a busy schedule with a new album, music tours, a movie bio
A musician who has worked with the likes of Zakir Hussain, Pat Metheny, Béla Fleck and Jordan Rudess, among others, and is carving his own niche through classical performances and genre-defying collaborations.
Purbayan Chatterjee was brought up in a very strict and traditional environment where he was taught to remain within the boundaries of the raga and the grammar of classical music. But as he began interacting with musicians from different cultures and genres, he slowly realised that music, at its core, is simply a heartfelt response in the moment to another artistic idea. “Over time, many of the walls and limitations that existed in my mind quietly dissolved away. That allowed me to blend my understanding of raga-based music with nuances borrowed from other musical traditions in a seamless and honest way. As for electrified sounds, I still deeply love the tone of my acoustic sitar. But sometimes, certain emotions demand a little distortion, ambience, or drive to unlock an entirely different form of expression. I try to use those textures selectively, only when the music genuinely asks for them,” he says.
An exponent of the Senia Maihar gharana, Purbayan understands the need to navigate the tension between preserving a strict, centuries-old inheritance and reshaping it for Gen-Next audiences. “Cultural inheritance, much like material inheritance, survives only when it is both preserved with care and allowed to evolve with the times,” he says. Whatever he learnt from his father, Pandit Partha Pratim Chatterjee, as well as from the towering legacies of Ustad Ali Akbar Khan and Pt. Ajay Chakraborty, was never meant to become a museum piece. “It had to pass through my own sensibility, my own experiences, my own era. Tradition gives you the grammar, but your times give you the vocabulary. My responsibility now is to pass that knowledge on to my students in a way that allows them to interpret it according to the collective consciousness of their generation,” he adds.
For someone who has spoken vocally on the ‘nepotism debate’, he believes that parental identity eventually becomes a very small part of who you are. “Because I began travelling and performing from a young age, I became deeply rebellious toward the idea that destiny should be predetermined at birth. I was inspired by stories of Pt. Nikhil Banerjee, who carved out his own path entirely on merit. Even after moving to Mumbai 14 years ago, a city that has given me so much, I realised that many traditional structures within our industry still revolved around access, familiarity and inherited privilege,” he avers. For him, success should emerge from meritocracy, not hereditary proximity or favouritism. That realisation became one of the driving forces behind initiatives such as Purbayan Arts and Artists Music Foundation (PAAMF), where he consciously tries to create platforms and opportunities for young musicians from all backgrounds who simply need belief, mentorship and visibility.
Purbayan Chatterjee has collaborated with Grammy-winning guitarist Mark Lettieri on his latest album, Feathered Creatures.
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Special Arrangement
His new album Feathered Creatures,which released recently, was the most organic outcome of his friendship with Grammy-winning guitarist Mark Lettieri of Snarky Puppy. The album came about when he was looking for a collaborator who was not only an exceptional musician but also someone deeply fluent in modern production, groove-based music, electronics and sonic architecture. “Mark came into the project with immense curiosity and zero ego, and together we almost approached the album like explorers setting out to discover a new musical galaxy. The challenge for me was learning how to retain the emotional and spiritual depth of the raga while placing it inside futuristic soundscapes, synth textures, odd grooves and highly produced environments. It pushed me out of comfort zones I didn’t even know I had, and that is always a beautiful thing for an artiste,” he says.
Additionally, Farhan Akhtar is collaborating closely with the PAAMF for his Hollywood debut in the Beatles biopic, where he is set to portray the sitar maestro Pt. Ravi Shankar. “I was initially approached by Anurag Rao, who is a friend and works closely with Farhan. Soon after that, Farhan himself got in touch and mentioned that he wanted to learn the sitar for a role. What struck me immediately was his sincerity and discipline. I was impressed by the seriousness with which he was willing to learn an instrument purely for artistic authenticity,” he says.
In projects such as ‘Unbounded’ (Abaad), he has seamlessly blended Indian classical with Jazz. Given the complexity of chromatic jazz improvisation, the biggest lesson he has learnt from masters such as Béla Fleck and Antonio Sánchez is that what Indian musicians bring to the table is an incredibly rich and emotionally layered melodic language. “When you place that against highly sophisticated Western harmonic thinking, the real art lies in making aesthetically justified choices. Not every possibility needs to be explored simply because it exists. The balance between raga and harmony requires restraint, sensitivity and taste. Often, it takes an entire lifetime of listening, absorbing and unlearning before one can instinctively make those choices in a way that feels organic rather than intellectual,” he says.
He believes it is incumbent upon the modern-day guru not only to teach the art form but also to prepare students to survive and thrive in a vastly changed world. Young musicians today need guidance on building sustainable careers, diversifying their skills, understanding technology, navigating legal and financial realities and applying their musical knowledge across multiple avenues. “At the same time, I strongly feel that both genders need to remain vigilant about predatory behaviour and unhealthy power dynamics. While humility, surrender, and respect remain central values within the guru-shishya parampara, personal dignity and self-respect must never be compromised. Sometimes it takes courage to stand your ground, and although that may create temporary obstacles, in the long run, integrity always pays off,” he concludes.
Published – June 09, 2026 01:16 pm IST
