BENGALURU: A senior academic Dr Tapasi Ghosh, attached to West Bengal State University, who researches into Thumri says that there are only 42 classical singers in the world who can render these romantic and devotional songs in their traditional form. Among this handful, he names Vidhushi Bina Sen. She is known for her Thumri and Dadra music.
Inspired by a Saint
Bina Sen started on Hindustani music when she was two years old, under the tutelage of Pt Chanditarkil from Jamshedpur in Kirana Gharana and got introduced to Thumri and Dadra style of singing from Pt Pratiti Mohan Majumdar, an All India Radio Artist. “I was inspired to study music after reading the autobiography of Swamy Tapananda, ‘Naada Brahma Saadhana’. He was a musician and the direct disciple of Maa Sharada Devi, wife of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamasa. Swamiji was called ‘Naada Siddha’ and he was my ‘mantra guru’ too. My father recognized my interest in music and took me to Pandit Chanditarkil for classes in Hindustani music,” says Vidhushi Bina Sen.
Later on, her keen interest in learning Thumri and Dadra styles brought her to Vidhushi Shipra Bose, under whom she trained for 12 long years. Bina Sen also accompanied her guru for stage performances.
‘Encourage Children’
Vidushi Bina has been teacher of Hindustani music for 30 years now and even runs a music school in Hyderabad. She has a message for parents, “Music is a wonderful art and the interest a parent takes in grooming their children academically, he or she should take in introducing them to music at an early age. Practising music for atleast half an hour a day can help them cope better with stress, and it has a beneficial effect on the brain. This is why even premier technology institutes have academies for music on their premises,” says Vidhushi Bina Sen.
Her family has always been supportive of her career in music and her children have also taken up music as their careers.
Vidhushi Bina Sen is currently pursuing her PhD in classical Thumri and Dadra under the guidance of Dr Tapasi Ghosh of University of Kolkata. She says she is excited to be sharing the stage with Pandit Tarun Bhattacharya on April 1.