Ruchira Panda, Classical Indian Vocalist performance

Ruchira Panda, from Kolkata, India, is the current torch-bearer of the Kotali Gharana, a lineage of classical
vocal masters originally hailing from Kotalipara in pre-partition Bengal. She is a solo vocalist and composer
who performs across all the major Indian Classical festivals in India, USA, CANADA and Europe. Her signature
voice has an unusually deep timbre and high-octane power that also has mind-blowing flexibility to render
superfast melodic patterns and intricate emotive glides across microtones.
Twenty four long years of mentoring by her guru, Pandit Manas Chakraborty, the son of legendary vocalist
Sangeetacharya Tarapada Chakraborty, shaped her gayki (style), Raagdari (command over the Raga) and
finesse.
Her repertoire includes Khayal, Thumri, Tappa, Tap-Khayal, Nirguni Bhajan and various other subtypes of Indian
Light Classical music e.g. Jhoola, Birha, Patjhar, Chaiti, Kajri, etc.
As a gifted composer and Guru, Ruchira keeps inventing new lyrics and tunes, sometimes just before or even
during a concert. That, naturally, adds to the freshness and magic of the core Indian Classical tradition
centered around live music settings