Photo: Sheikh Mehedi Morshed

Renowned classical tabla maestro Pt Subhankar Banerjee passed away at a private hospital in Kolkata earlier today. He was diagnosed with Covid-19. He was under extracorporeal life support. Banerjee had been hospitalised from June 20.

His well-wishers appealed for fundraising online, after he was admitted to the hospital. The fundraising campaign garnered significant attention on the internet.

For years, Banerjee performed on the same stage with artistes such as Pt Ravi Shankar, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Pt Birju Maharaj, and Pt Hariprasad Chaurasia, among others.

He was honoured with the 'Sangeet Samman' and 'Sangeet Maha Samman' awards in India.

At the age of three, the musical prodigy, born to singer-composer Kajalrekha, was trained under Pt Manik Das, Benaras Gharana. He went on to learn music from Pt Swapan Shiva of Farukhabad Gharana for 25 years. He was regarded as one of the most brilliant tabla players of today.