Gautam Chatterjee
| Gautam Chattopadhyay | |
|---|---|
Gautam Chattopadhyay, the founder of Moheener Ghoraguli
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Gautam Chattopadhyay |
| Born | 1 June 1948 India |
| Died | 20 June 1999 (aged 51) kolkata, india |
| Genres | Bangla folk rock |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, singer, music programmer |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar, saxophone |
| Years active | 60s–1999 |
| Associated acts | |
| Website | gautamchattopadhyay |
Gautam Chattopadhyay (1 June 1948 – 20 June 1999) was an Indian Bengali singer, songwriter, bassist, and composer. In 1975, as a leader he co-founded the progressive rock band Moheener Ghoraguli with songwriter Tapas Das, pianist Abraham Mazumdar, bassist Pradip Chatterjee, lyricist Ranjon Ghoshal, drummer Biswanath Bishu Chattopadhyay and guitarist, Tapesh Bandopadhyay. He was also a theatre person, filmmaker and ethnographer.
He played many Indian and Western instruments. During his college years he played lead guitar in a band called The Urge, whose members were mostly Anglo Indians, in pubs including Trincas and Moulin Rouge at Park Street of Kolkata during the 1960s.
While a student at the Presidency College in Kolkata, he participated in the political movement of the late 60s and early 70s in Bengali campuses known as the Naxal Movement. He then moved to Jabalpur, working for about a year as a Medical representative in Jabalpur and then in Bhopal. He continued composing music during this phase of his life.
Chattopadhyay returned to Kolkata, and formed a band called Saptarshi with his brothers Pradip Chattopadhyay, Biswanath (or Bishu) Chattopadhyay, first cousin Ranjon Ghoshal, Biswanath's friend Abraham Mazumder, and family friends Tapesh Bandopadhyay and Tapash Das. Later they called themselves Moheener Ghoraguli. He worked with the 'Bauls'Fakirs creating a new genre of music-'Baul-Jazz' It was a mixture of Baul and jazz. Chattopadhyay introduced new lyrics and the guitar, saxophone and drum set.
Moheener Ghoraguli wasn't commercially successful at the time, and the band disintegrated in 1981. During the mid-nineties, Chattopadhyay revived Mohiner Ghoraguli by releasing the albums: Abar bachhor kuri pore (1995), Jhara shomoyer gaan (1996), Maya (1997), Khepar gaan(1998). He included new singers, his own compositions as well as songs composed by others.
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