Santanu Roychoudhury (Professional Singer)

Profile & Biography

Early life

Born in Kolkata, India, Santanu Roychowdhury is renowned by music fans both within and beyond India. He has distinguished himself as a singer with an innovative style and depth of voice which has mesmerised his fans. In addition to contemporary Bengali and Hindi music, Santanu seeks inspiration from Rabindranath Tagore's immense creations. As a versatile singer from West Bengal, India, he is unparalleled with a melodious and charming voice. He has enlightened himself with all forms of Indian Classical Music from under the guidance of Guru Pandit Subir Chakrabarty. He sings different forms of music such as Rabindra Sangeet, Hindi Rabindra-Geet, both Bengali and Hindi old melodies, Bengali and Hindi Devotional songs, Bhajans, Hindi Gazals and Bengali Folk Songs. Alongside his formal training in music (or Sangeet Sadhana), Santanu simultaneously focused on his studies. He achieved his Master's Degree in Commerce from the renowned University of Calcutta as a topper. He also enjoys taking part in different sports like tennis, cricket, and football and was awarded University Blue.

Shantanu Roychoudhury & His Career

Santanu's singing career started when he won an All India Talent Singing Competition in 1991, organized by HMV. Following this achievement, HMV (Presently Sa Re Ga Ma) released his first album in 1995. Since then he has more than 25 Music Albums to his credit as well as a few film songs, TV serial Songs, and independent projects. His music albums were brought out by major music companies of India e.g. HMV, Times Music, Zee Music, Raga Music, Asha Audio, Srishti Cassettes, just to name a few. As a life-long admirer of India's National Poet Rabindranath Tagore, Santanu established gurukul (music institution) named Rabir Ghar (রবির ঘর) in association with his wife Mrs Nabanita Roychowdhury. The main objective of this institution is to convey the message from the classic theory of Advaitabad, defined in Upanishada. Students belonging to different age groups from 5 to 75 years come to gratify Tagore's musical creation and philosophy. They are also being trained with scientific vocal training and get familiar with the enriched Indian musical culture. Students are involved in the performance of various cultural activities throughout the year under the guidance of Santanu Roychowdhury and Nabanita Roychowdhury.

Shantanu Roychoudhury & His Innovation

Santanu has been trying to popularise Rabindra Sangeet across the world through Hindi Rabindra Geet (a Hindi transcreation of Rabindra Sangeet) . It is his Guru, Pandit Subir Chakrabarty, who has conceptualised Hindi Rabindra Geet. Based on this concept, Santanu Roychowdhury came out with three "Hindi Rabindra Geet" albums, namely; Musafir, Deewana, and Intezaar (see also the pages, Awards and Honours and My Gallery). The Hindi Rabindra Geet albums Musafir - released in the year 2011 by HMV (presently Saregama), Deewana released in the year 2013 by Times Music and Intezaar released in the year 2015 by Times Music are a sincere endeavour of presenting 30 newly composed Hindi songs which are totally influenced by Tagore's allegorical lyrics, mingled with divine tunes, creating a special style of Hindi Geet. The lyrics however, are not direct translation, yet within each of the compositions, the poet's emotions and philosophy have been preserved in the music. The Honourable former Governor of West Bengal, Late Shri Kesari Nath Tripathi was inspired by Santanu's Hindi Rabindra Geet and came forward with his ten Hindi poems. Based on these poems Pandit Subir Chakrabarty composed ten beautiful songs and composed an album "Mera Parichay" (see also the pages - Awards and Honours and Picture Gallery) sung by Santanu Roychowdhury. In 2011, after the release of Musafir, The Ministry of Art and Culture, Government of India recommended this album to the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) headquartered in Paris, France, where Santanu performed and mesmerized the world with Hindi Rabindra Geet. This was a significant honour to be bestowed upon an Indian musician and citizen. In the year 2017, Santanu again performed Hindi Rabindra Geet in Jakarta, Indonesia at the 2nd International Conference on ASEAN-India Cultural and Civilization Links as part of the official delegation of the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India. In addition, Santanu was also one of the first India musicians to perform Rabindra Sangeet on the 150th Birth Anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore at Hampstead, London, UK where Rabindranath Tagore wrote several poems of Geetanjali. Besides, the Ministry of Art and Culture, Govt of India has felicitated Santanu Roychowdhury in the presence of the honourable President of India with other dignitaries at the Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi, India. His album Sufiana Mizaz in the year 2005, released in Digital Theater System (DTS) format which was a first for India at the time. Santanu has been honoured to sing the theme song for the Indian Heritage Nationalized Bank State Bank of India in the occasion of Centenary Celebration (100 years). YouTube Link for the theme song : https://youtu.be/siDfcO5vns4 (see also the pages, Awards and Honours and Picture Gallery). In the year 2022, Santanu has been given the privilege and honour to contribute in playback with his voice in the documentary on Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman 'Mujib in Calcutta' , directed by the eminent Indian film-maker Gautam Ghose, with the support of the Bangladesh Foreign Ministry.

Shantanu Roychoudhury & His Performances

During the last twenty-five years, Santanu has performed several live shows across India including his native state West Bengal, receiving appreciation far and wide. His performances have been applauded by leading Bengali and English daily newspapers and several weekly magazines. He has been performing many solo concerts internationally alongside renowned artists. He has performed in New Delhi, India at least twice a year on a regular basis on different occasions. In addition, he also performed an hour-long solo programme during the cultural event DESTINATION WEST BENGAL FOR INDUSTRIALISTS organized at Oberoi Hotel, Mumbai, India. Santanu was invited by the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh to perform at Hyderabad. In January 2010, Santanu performed at the Hyderabad Banga Sammelan. He was also invited by the Cultural Minister, Government of Tripura to perform in various programs. Santanu's performances begins with hymns in Sanskrit Strotra. It is followed by Puja, Prakrit, Prem. Swadesh and Drama songs of Rabindra Nath Tagore including Hindi Rabindra Geet. Bengali Modern Songs based on melodies and fusions. He also sings Bengali Old Melodies by former renowned artist of Golden Era like Hemanta Mudhopadhyay, Manna Dey, Shyamal Mitra, Rahul Dev Burman and Kishore Kumar. Bengal folk songs from Sachin Dev Burman, Nirmalendu Choudhury, Abbasuddin etc. Old Hindi Melodies of Kishore Kumar, Rahul Dev Burman, Mohammed Rafi, Hemant Kumar, Talat Mehmood, Mukhesh, Manna Dey etc. Sufi, Gazals.

A few noteworthy national performance invitations for Santanu Roychowdhury:


May

150th Birth Anniversary of Kabi Guru Rabindra Nath Tagore organized by the Ministry of Art and Culture, Govt of India, at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi, India.

12th January

150th Birth Anniversary of Swami Vivekananda organized by Ramkrishna Math & Mission at Belurmath, West Bengal

1st May

    125th Anniversary of Ramkrishna Math & Misson at Belurmath, West Bengal

15th January

125th Anniversary of Udbodhan Patrika Ramkrishna Math & Misson at Belurmath, West Bengal


Solo Concert (একক)

Santanu is also a regular performer in heritage spiritual places like,

 

Here are the few mention-worthy International Programmes peformed by Santanu Roychoudhury :

November

Santanu Night, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE).

October

Bengali Festival, Detroit, Michigan, United States of America (USA).

 June

Indian Association of UAE, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, UAE.

North American Bengali Conference (NABC), Houston, Texas, USA.

Indian Community, Detroit, Michigan, USA.

Bengali Festival, Pittsburg, USA.

Indo Canadian Idol Show, Toronto, Canada

Indian Association, Edmonton, Canada

June

North American Bengali Conference (NABC), Detroit, Michigan, USA.

Bengali Festival, Pittsburg, USA.

Bengali Festival, Toronto, Canada.


January

International Road Show, Doha, Qatar.

May 

Bengali Cultural Conference, Abu Dhabi, UAE.

Prabasi Bengali Cultural Association, Toronto, Canada

150th Birthday Celebration of Kabi Guru Rabindranath Tagore at Hamsptead, London, UK 

Vedanta Society, Toronto, Canada.

September

India Delegation to UNESCO Paris, France for 150th Birthday Celebrations of Kabi Guru Rabindra Nath Tagore.

February

Bangladesh for Geetanjali 100, Dhaka and Shilaidaha, Bangladesh.

April

Dhaka Officer's Club, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Chittagong Bengali Club, Chittagong, Bangladesh.

May

Kuala Lampur, Malaysia.

December

Chittagong Club, Chittagong, Bangladesh.

January

Jakarta, Indonesia.

July

North American Bengali Conference (NABC) at Las Vegas, United States of America.