Bhawaiya

Bijon Kumar Roy

Call: 7384210273

Bijon Kumar Roy is a highly revered traditional Bhawaiya artist and son of the legendary Bhawaiya singer Biren Roy alias Kana Biren. Playing the Dotara (a traditional stringed music instrument) since he was barely seven, Bijon continued to pursue music with the utmost dedication even in the face of great economic hardships. His repertoire includes songs written by his father on the natural features and social dynamics of North Bengal. Bijon Kumar along with his wife Kaushalya are a popular duo of Bhawaiya music. For more details, click on the link mentioned below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dCve886HSI

Pradyut Roy

Call: 6295745322

Pradyut Roy is an accomplished Bhawaiya artist who was trained under renowned exponents like Dhiren Roy, Harinath Roy, Nirmal Barman and Anil Majumdar. Singing since he was a teenager, Pradyut bagged many awards in his early years and went on to stand first in Folk category of Chhatra-Yuva Utsav 2016-2017, organized by the West Bengal Government. His songs are part of two critically acclaimed albums Sonar Nao and Bhaber Bhawaiya. Pradyot regularly performs at events across West Bengal.

Kaushalya Roy

Call: 8597332070

Daughter of singer parents, Kausalya has Bhawaiya in her blood. Her first appearance as a Bhawaiya performer was at the age of 8. The mellifluous voice of Kausalya impressed Biren Roy, a legend in Bhawaiya music so immensely that he got her married to his son. She has been awarded at Block level at the State Bhawaiya Festival. Overpowering the financial issues, she along with her husband, have made their presence felt in the world of Bhawaiya songs.

Sukheswar Dewri

Call: 8967499600

Sukheswar Dewri is a Bhawaiya Guru and and activist working for the revival of the genre. The practice of Bhawaiya music runs in his family, but his father did not want him to take up singing due to financial issues in the family. The love for the music did not deter him though. While in college, he set up theatre groups with his friends and included Bhawaiya songs in the presentations. That was the time when popular film songs were driving the traditional Bhawaiya to a back seat. The plays performed in the regional dialect, with Sukheswar in the lead role, attracted common people to the then declining Bhawaiya. Sukheswar Dewri has trained and initiated many next generation singers in the tradition and his son Himadri is one of them.

Kumar Manabendra Narayan

Call: 9933376307

Kumar Manabendra Narayan is an acclaimed Guru of Bhawaiya, from Tufangunj, Cooch Behar and a descendant of the Cooch Behar royal family. He got attracted to Bhawaiya songs by listening to the same being sung in between his father’s productions of Pala Gaan. Manabendra Narayan’s initiation to Bhawaiya was at the age of 10, from his father Manindra Narayan. He has done numerous performances and has composed many Bhawaiya plays like Nithua Pathare Kajol Bhoromora, Ei Juger Daini, Sonar Songsar, Kokilar Kandon based on the life of the king of Rajmahal Lakkhin Narayan. He has been performing at the local Radio since 1972. Manabendra Narayan’s first record came out in 1980. He is a famous teacher and teaches Bhawaiya in 17 schools. Bhawaiya singer Nazrul Islam is also his student.

Tumpa Barman

Call: 9733007844

Tumpa Barman is a young and promising Bhawaiya singer. She grew up in a musical environment. Her grandfather used to sing songs of the Padma Puran (a religious text drawn upon the snake goddess Manasa), her mother and elder sister were Kirtan singers and that is where she draws her influence from. She was famous in North Bengal as a child artist. She met Sonatan Barman during a performance, the intimacy grew from the acquaintance and then they married. She trained under Sonaton after marriage and now Tumpa is a noted exponent of Bhawaiya music in North Bengal. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbPHUp_mosw

Sunil Barman

Call: 8972927661

Sunil Barman of Coochbehar is a noted exponent of Bhawaiya music of recent times. Started learning music at the age of 7, his expertise lies in playing Dotara and Sarinda, string instruments related to Bhawaiya music. He was inspired by many local musicians but was groomed by the great Alauddin Sarkar. Sunil was awarded two times at the State Bhawaiya Festival. He can be regarded as one of the finest Bhawaiya composers of recent times. Sunil has a numerous music albums including ‘Maishal Bandhu’, ‘Sadher Nouka’, ‘Moner Asha’ etc. He is a famous Bhawaiya guru in North Bengal and teaches the traditional folk music to the young generation. Lastly it is important to mention that Sunil Barman feels himself very lucky as he got a golden opportunity to accompany with Pratima Pandey Barua, the world famous Bhawaiya songbird.

Nazrul Islam

Call: 7908744280

Najrul Islam is an accomplished Bhawaiya artist and composer as well. Singing from a very young age, he was trained under veterans like Subhash Chandra Das, Kumar Manabendra Narayan and Alauddin Sarkar. In 2001 and 2002, Najrul won the state-level Bhawaiya championship. Nazrul has many music albums including Bhaber Bhawaiya, Bhabnadir Bhawaiya and Moner Ayna and many of his songs are viral in social media. Najrul has performed across India including Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata and has an immense contribution in safeguarding the heritage. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMyn8cyDZmk

Mousumi Barman

Call: 9641742766

Mousumi Roy is a young rising Bhawaiya artist of Jalpaiguri and she has been learning music since her childhood. She has taken her musical lessons from several Bhawaiya gurus like Santosh Barman, Durga Roy, Dipti Roy etc. In the year 2015, she managed to secure her positions in various Bhawaiya music competitons organized in North Bengal, like first position in AbbasuddinMedhaProtijogita, second and first position in the Folk and Bhawaiyacategory respectively in Chhatra-Yuva Utsav. The multi-talented Mousumi Roy can play some musical instruments like Dotara and Sarinda, string instruments related to Bhawaiya music. In 2019 she became a graded Bhawaiya artist in All India Radio.

Suvash Barman

Call: 9800019118

Suvash Barman is in the world of Bhawaiya for over 30 years and his guru was late Dhaneswar Das. He went on to stand first in the Folk category of Chhatra-Yuva Utsav 2015-2016, organized by the West Bengal Government. Now he is engaged in teaching the authentic Bhawaiya music to the young generation. Suvash Barman along with his wife Jyotsna are a popular duo of Bhawaiya music and they perform regularly the traditional musical theatre of North Bengal by forming a group with their students.

Dipankar Roy Dakua

Call: 9932257022

Dipankar Roy Dakua, a leading flute player, Dipankar was born at Maynaguri in Jalpaiguri district in 1980 and learned the art of playing the instrument from Subhas Sarkar of Bangladesh, Prabhu Gouranga Das who specialized in classical music, and Jatan Roy who specialized in Bengali folk music. Dipankar is a regular artiste for All India Radio for over five years now. He also plays regularly for the Doordarshan television channel. He has performed across India, in Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Goa, Assam, Tripura, Meghalaya, and at the Sur Jahan World Peace Music Festival in Kolkata. He has also performed in Bhutan, where he was hosted by the office of Bhutan’s King, and in Nepal and Bangladesh.