SPOTLIGHT

LIVING THE MUSIC WITH MY GURU

Andrew and Jonathan Kay with Justin Grey and their guru Pandit Shantanu Bhattacharya, his wife Durba and daughter Mitra.

By ANDREW KAY

When my brother Jonathan and I first travelled to Kolkata in 2006 to study with Pandit Shantanu Bhattacharyya, we knew we were stepping into something profound – but we couldn’t have imagined just how deeply it would shape our lives.

We weren’t just learning ragas and exercises in a practice room. We were entering into the guru-shishya parampara, the ancient tradition where the bond between teacher and student is lived, not only taught. For us, this meant moving into our guru’s home, sharing meals with his family, spending 10-12 hours immersed in taalim (learning) and riyaz (practice), and absorbing the rhythms of life that surrounded the music.

Slowly, our lives became entwined with Bengali culture. We tried our best to learn some of the language so we could communicate with local rickshaw-walas, chai-walas, and taxi drivers. We wore traditional dress of kurta and dhoti at concerts and festivals, and we indulged in the incredible plethora of dishes; from daal and rice, cholladaal, aloo dim, illish maach, as well as the hundreds of Bengali sweets and mishti doi. We really started to feel how living in this way was not separate from our musical practice – everything was a part of learning how to live the music.

With Shantanuji, music was everywhere: in the home, travelling by car, train, or plane, back stage in the green rooms as well as in the audience. The values of patience, persistence, discipline, and devotion were as much a part of the training as any raga. This apprenticeship taught us not only how to play, but how to breathe, how to listen, and how to connect more deeply with ourselves and with others.

So what began as an adventurous trip to discover India and its rich culture turned into nearly a decade of living, travelling, and performing across the country. Since returning to Canada and starting a family, the seeds of raag sangeet planted during those years have continued to grow.

I’ve nurtured them by studying raga online with my guru, sharing performances across Canada and Europe, and teaching through private lessons and workshops with students from many different backgrounds.

The bond of the guru-shishya relationship is one that spans a lifetime – and beyond.

On October 25, 2025, I am honored to share this living tradition with Toronto audiences as Raag-Mala Toronto closes its 2024-25 season, and we open the 7th edition of the Toronto Indo-Jazz Festival at the Aga Khan Museum.

On stage with us will be my guru, Pandit Shantanu Bhattacharyya, joined by his wife Durba and daughter Mitra, both gifted vocalists, and accompanied by tabla artiste Sudhir Ghorai. Jonathan and I will also perform, bringing our own voices into this dialogue that has shaped our artistic journey for more than a decade.

For me, this concert is not just about performance – it is about sharing a lineage, a relationship, and a way of life that continues to inspire everything I do.

It is about bringing a piece of Kolkata, a piece of our musical family, into the heart of Toronto.

I hope you will join us for this very special program on October 25.

• Andrew Kay is board member at Raag-Mala Toronto.

WHEN AND WHERE

Saturday, October 25 at 7:30 pm at Aga Khan Museum Toronto. Indo-Jazz Festival featuring Pandit Shantanu Bhattacharyya (vocal), Durba Bhattacharyya (vocal), Mitra Bhattacharyya (vocal), Sudhir Kumar Ghorai (tabla), Andrew Kay (saxophones, singing bowls). Jonathan Kay (saxophones, esraj). Ticket at agakhanmuseum.org.