Saikat Bhattacharya has been playing the Sitar for over twenty four years. Playing the sitar has been his passion and devotion. His motivation to learn came from his parents more particularly his mother. Saikat’s first teaching began in early nineties under the supervision of his first Guru Pandit Manilal Nag of Calcutta, in India. At present, Saikat is a disciple of Ustad Shahid Parvez Khan.

Saikat has made numerous public performances in India and Australia. In Australia, he has regularly performed at the Woodford Folk Festival, Queensland Multicultural Music Festival, Queensland Conservatorium, and several other public and private programs.

Saikat’s first Guru – Pandit Manilal Nag, a veteran sitar maestro from Calcutta is a world famous name in the world of Indian classical music. The sitar master is the major living exponent of the Vishnupur gharana, a school of classical Indian music coming from the ancient dhrupad style of the aalap, the base of the North Indian ragas.

Saikat’s current Guru: Ustad Shahid Parvez Khan descends from six generations of sitarists. He is one of the leading exponents of the Etawah Gharana, a musical tradition or “family” committed to this most famous of Indian instruments. He was trained by his father and guru, Ustad Aziz Khan. For Ustad Shahid Parvez Khan, the Sitar and Self are identical entities, and music is not just a discipline but life itself – vibrating and pulsating and full of colour.

Saikat returns to Sangeet Mela 2019 having performed at Sangeet Mela 2014: