Mysuru: Gayana Sabha, Mysuru, has organised a Hindustani Classical Music Concert by A.K. Gurudutt, disciple of Pt. Ajoy Chakrabarty, on Feb.16 at 6.15 pm at ‘Kalpa Kshetra,’ 581/1, Vijayanagar 4th Stage, 1st Phase here. He will be accompanied on tabla by Pt. Ramesh Dhannur and on harmonium by Vighnesh Bhagwat.

Profile: Born in a traditional family of great Sanskrit scholars and musicians revered by the Kings of Mysore, Gurudutt’s great-grandfathers, both paternal and maternal, were acclaimed flautists of that era. His grandfathers, Chilkunda Brothers, are a household name across Karnataka while his uncles, too, are highly accomplished flautists.

At the tender age of four, his mother C.N. Annapurna initiated him into Karnatak vocal music. Soon he also started training under his uncle A.K. Viswanath, a great poet, flautist, and composer, in playing bamboo flute in Karnatak style, which continued for two decades. Later Gurudutt developed a great desire to learn Hindustani vocal music and started training under Geetha Bhat from Dharwad, a disciple of Pandit M.G. Patwardhan from the lineage of Gayanacharya Pandit Gururao Deshpande.

In 2013, Gurudutt became part of the lineage of stalwarts like Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan and Padma Bhushan Deshikottam Pandit Jnan Prakash Ghosh when he came under the tutelage of Sangeet Samrat Padma Shri Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty, in the Guru-Shishya parampara. Presently he is staying at Kolkata under the care and guidance of Panditji undergoing extensive training and traveling across the country with him.

His versatility in presenting Khayal, Thumri, Marathi Abhang, Kannada Dasara Pada, Hindi songs of Tulsidas and Bengali Rabindra Sangeet, with equal ease, is noteworthy.

A “Yuvavani” (Karnatak flute) and “B grade” (Hindustani vocal) artiste of All India Radio, Bengaluru, Gurudutt was appreciated through many awards including “Yuva Pratibhe” by Government of Karnataka, “Mr. Virtuoso” and “Mr. Voice” by Carnatica and a Gold Medal by KLE group of institutions for the best performance in Karnatak flute music.

Gurudutt holds BBM degree from Bangalore University and PGDM from AIMA, Delhi, both with distinction.