Susmit Bose: ‘Most of My Music Was Written Casually'

The legendary singer-songwriter opens up about his meetings with Pete Seeger, Jimmy Page, Nelson Mandela and more

- SUNIL SAMPAT

Every once in a lifetime one encounters a musician who combines the attributes of talent, versatility of range and uncomplicated simplicity of delivery with an innate gift of musicality; such a musician is Susmit Bose, a man with a long and illustrious career that has gone largely unheralded because of the times in which it flourished. His contribution to the music scene is remarkable for its range and expanse. His new album release, Then & Now in December 2020 encompasses his 50 years on the music scene – but by no means does it tell the entire story of his contributions. For that, we have to dig a little deeper…

Some people are born destined to become musicians. They are brought up in an environment of music and musicians. It is the only way of life they know. Becoming a musician is an almost inevitable by-product of this environment. Bose is one such musician. He was born in a home where his father, himself an accomplished singer was head of the All India Radio in Delhi and curated their music programs. His friends, some of the great Hindustani musicians of the day were always in and out of their home.

Bose, steeped in the tradition of music, decided to forge his own, unique path and has several accomplishments to his name, including performing on stage with Pete Seeger, meeting and presenting an album of his tribute to Dr. Nelson Mandela and brainstorming with Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin fame.

Starting out as an urban folk singer, when Bose was nicknamed the Indian Bob Dylan, he was singing musical tales from his experiences. He has since worked with baul folk singers from Bengal and young rock musicians from the North East. He has curated albums with diverse music genres and even worked with jazz musicians.