Rezwana Chowdhury Banya

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Rezwana Chowdhury Banya (also variously cited as Rezwana Chowdhury Bonna, Rezwana Chowdhury Bonya and Rezwana Choudhury Bannya) is a contemporary Rabindrasangeet singer widely hailed in both her native Bangladesh and West Bengal, India as being one of the most versatile exponents of this musical genre. She is often referred to by aficianados solely by her nickname Banya, which translates into English as "deluge". She is one of the most acclaimed former proteges of Kanika Banerjee.

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[edit] Tutelage at Visva Bharati

Banya has been singing from a very early age. According to an autobiographical account published in an online journal in 2001, as long as she remembered she dreamt of learning Rabindrasangeet at Visva-Bharati University, the university set up by Rabindranath Tagore on his ancestral property using money awarded for his Nobel Prize. Visva Bharati, to this day, remains a major center for learning Rabindra Sangeet in West Bengal, the other major university in India for this genre being Rabindra Bharati University. Over the years, both universities have developed distinctive styles of singing in this genre. Until the Visva Bharati's copyright of all of Tagore's songs expired, it was mandatory in India for any singer to obtain permission of the Music Board before cutting a record with songs composed by him. It was no wonder that after Banya completed her initial training from Chhāyānôt in Bangladesh, she wanted to study at Visva Bharati. However, she recounts that she had no intention of making a career out of music, and rather thought she would return to Bangladesh to get a degree in Economics. In the interim she had been admitted to the Bulbul Academy but her training there was cut short in 1971 by the Bangladesh Liberation War. Prior to and during the war, Pakistan suppressed aspects of Bangla language and culture. It was only after Independence that Bangladeshi singers were free to pursue this art form with renewed gusto.

At Visva Bharati, renowned exponents such as Kanika Banerjee, Nilima Sen, Ashesh Bandopadhyay, and Santideb Ghose were her mentors. In her autobiographical account she mentors the respect she had for her mentors at Viswa Bharati, particularly Kanika Banerjee. In addition, she learned other forms of Bangla music such as the folk kirtan and the classical tappa. Among instruments, she can play the harmonium and the esraj.

[edit] Critical acclaim

On completing her training, she became recognized as a master in the Visva Bharati style due to her clean rendition, impeccable accent, and her willingness to tackle even the most difficult and least popular songs. She has traveled extensively and has cut numerous albums in many countries, most notably in Bangladesh and India. She also opened Shurer dhara, a school for learning music in Dhaka. In 2002 she was awarded the first Ananda Sangeet Puroshkar for being the best female Rabindra Sangeet artist, a feat she repeated the following year. She currently holds a faculty position in the Department of Theater and Music at the University of Dhaka.

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