Sudeshna is a musician, playing the rich tradition of north Indian classical music. Her instrument is the Sarod. The more than one meter long, nineteen strings Sarod is a descendant of a mid-Asian instrument, the Rabab, witch was modified seven generation ago, to better suit Indian music. Children usually begin to acquaint with the instrument at early age of four, and practice each passage or movement on the instrument for many years. In contrary to sitar, the places of the individual notes on the fretboard of the sarod are not set, as with the violin or cello. This particularity, and similarity with bowed western and Indian instruments is an important necessity for Indian music, knowing more notes, or micro tones than the western scale.
Sarod, and music generally, played in India is inherited from father to son, meaning that there are very few female musicians in the country. There are only three known female sarod players in the world, and Sudeshna is one of them.
Sudeshna began to learn at the age of four from her father Pandit Shri Krishna Mohan Bhattacharya, who is respected not only because of his Sarod, but also because of his vocal knowledge in dhrupad style. According to the tradition, Pandit Shri Krishna Mohan Bhattacharya learnt from his father, Pandit Biswanath Bhattacharya, who was a great Esraj player, and the great Sarod maestro Pandit Radhika Mohan Maitra. After studying from her father, Sudeshna gave her first public recital at the age of seven. and in the same year she started participating in musical competition too. Throughout three years she was chosen as the best among all the applicants, winning the first prize and a national scholarship for nine years.
From the age of eight Sudeshna began to learn Sarod from one of the greatest Sarod maestroes of the world, the legend Ustad Amjad Ali Khan. Sudeshna became Ustad Amjad Ali Khan Gandabandh disiple. Sudeshna was the youngest awarded by the Indian national scholarship, which she received till her age of twenty. During this period she regularly performed on radio, live and television.
She was twenty years old when she majored in the musical conservatory of Allahbad, and again received a national scholarship for further two years. In 2001 she won the title of best Indian musician, and in 2002 the title of best music performer in India. Sudeshna Bhattacharya is a holder of the degree "Sangeet Visharead" from Varanasi.
Sudeshna had her first European tour in 1999 touring Belgium, Switzerland, France, Sweden and Norway, and a half hour broadcast and one hour interview on Belgian public radio. It was this occasion that the music loving audience of Europe got to know her, and from this time she was regularly invited to performances.
In 2003 the Ministry of Culture in France invited her to the Strictly Mondial international festival, and offered her a ten year contract. Since then she's living in Marseilles, and she's giving concerts, teaching, recording and participating in French cultural happenings with the support of the French Ministry of Culture.
Till now her music was known by audiences in India, France, Norway, Portugal, England, Algeria, Spain, Italy, Israel, Belgium, Greece, Switzerland, Hungary, Reunion, Monaco, Morocco, Thailand, Denmark, Romania, Serbia and Sweden. March 2007 she played on the Babel Med International festival in Marseilles, from where fifty six French radio channels broadcasting their concert.
Sudeshna lives now in Norway, from 2015 she was a university lecturer for master students at the Norwegian Academy of Music.
Sudeshna is giving concerts, recording albums, making musical projects, touring the world with her Indian classical and her fusion music.
