Brajeswar Mukerjee is a well known Hindustani Classical Vocal singer from Kolkata, India. A disciple of the eminent vocalist Pt. Ajoy Chakraborty since an early age, Brajeswar has found popularity with lovers of Indian classical music all over the world through his radio programs, live performance and published albums.
Brajeswar Mukerjee is a recipient of many awards and honours, including ‘Dhananjay Smriti Puraskar’ from Calcutta University, Shrutinandan Puraskar from Shrutinandan Institute and ‘Gaan Vardhan’ from Pune. Currently a Musician Tutor and Junior Guru at ITC SRA, Kolkata, Brajeswar is a B-High Grade regular artist of All India Radio, Kolkata.
Early life and education
Brajeswar was born in the small village of Borsul in the Burdwan district of West Bengal, India. Fortunate to have born in a musical family, he started training in Indian classical music from the tender age of four from his father Shri Bankim Mukerjee, a noted ‘Jatra Pala’ singer. For the next few years, he honed his musical skills learning from Shri Asit Roy and Shri Hara Kumar Chaterjee of his hometown. The greatest moment in his music education arrived when Brajeswar, all of ten years of age, was accepted by the celebrated vocalist Pt. Ajoy Chakraborty as his disciple in the true Gurukul tradition.
As an inmate in Gurujee’s (as Pt. Ajoy Chakraborty is called by his student with loving respect) house, Brajeswar trained in the scientific ‘Shrutinandan’ system of learning, devised by Pt. Chakraborty himself. After a few years of hard training, Brajeswar started guiding the young disciples at Shrutinandan, even while fine tuning his own musical expertise. Another milestone in his musical journey came in 2010, when was selected in the ITC Sangeet Research Academy (SRA) as a grade A scholar. He currently a musician tutor at ITC SRA, where he continues to train under Pt. Ajoy Chakraborty.
Brajeswar has earned his post-graduation in music from Calcutta University, securing a creditable First Class 2nd position.
Career
Brajeswar has given solo performances at popular events such as ITC SRA Mangaldeep Sammelan, Legends of India, Kolkata, Sankar Darabar at Nanded, Nadam - organised by Tabla maestro Pt. Kumar Bose at Kolkata and the Dharwad Music Festival. He has performed at prestigious institutes such as NCPA Mumbai, India Habitat Center and Rajya Sangeet Academy.
Brajeswar also gave solo performances in USA, UK, Greece and Bangladesh. Since 2003, Brajeswar Mukerjee has been accompanying his guru Pt. Ajoy Chakraborty on harmonium or as vocal support in concerts all over the world. He has sung with legendary artists such as Dr. Balmuralikrishnan. Brajeswar is also a popular artist with overseas audiences, having given many enthralling performance in cities like USA, UK, Greece and Bangladesh, London, New Orleans and Charlotte. He is a B-High grade artist of All India Radio and has many radio renditions to his name.
Brajeswar Mukerjee has been the recipient of many awards and accolades for his mastery of Hindustani Classical Vocal. He has been awarded the ‘Dhananjay Smriti Puraskar’ from Calcutta University, ‘Shrutinandan Puraskar’ from Pt. Ajay Chakraborty’s Shrutinandan Institute, ‘Gaan Vardhan’ from Pune and has secured National Scholarship from Govt. of India. Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar in 2016 by the Sangeet Natak Akademi.