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{{Infobox person
| name = Deben Bhattacharya
| image = 
| alt = 
| caption =
| birth_name = 
| birth_date = 1921
| birth_place = [[Benares]], [[India]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2001|1921}}
| death_place =
| nationality = Indian
| other_names =
| occupation = radio producer, record producer, [[ethnomusicologist]], [[anthropologist]], documentary filmmaker, photographer, translator, poet, writer, broadcaster, lecturer, and [[folk music]] consultant
| years_active =
| known_for =
| notable_works =
}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2014}}
'''Deben Bhattacharya''' (1921–2001) was a [[Bengali people|Bengali]] radio producer, record producer, [[ethnomusicologist]], [[anthropologist]], documentary filmmaker, photographer, translator, poet, writer, broadcaster, lecturer, and [[folk music]] consultant. He produced over 100 records, 23 films and published more than a dozen books in his lifetime and much of his work was carried out under the auspices of [[UNESCO]].<ref>Liner notes, Argo LP ZFB 52 "Songs of Krishna", 1971.</ref>

==Early life==
Bhattacharya was born to an old Bengali [[Brahmin]] family that was settled in [[Benares]] for over 130 years. As a young man, he was influenced by the work of English poet [[Lewis Thompson]], which prompted him to move to England, where he worked for the [[BBC]] as a radio producer. Knowing a lot of Indians in London, he started to record Indian musicians on a Baird [[tape recorder]]. When Bhattacharya had the idea to do field recordings in India, he was met with a financial dilemma of needing £80 for the tape recorder, £20 for the transformer, £25 for 20 blank tapes, plus about £60 for a one way boat ticket to Bombay. Sunday Wilson – a producer for the overseas service, commissioned him for six five-minute programmes, which garnered £30.6.0. Weeks after that, the poet [[Stephen Spender]], who had started his new magazine ''[[Encounter (magazine)|Encounter]]'', approached Bhattacharya to write an article on Indian poetry and advance him on two further articles. The London based company [[Argo Records (UK)|Argo Records Ltd.]] that specialized in classical music also advanced £25 and paid for the [[Gaumont-British]] machine, and the tapes against future royalties. He returned with enough material to make four or five records, and one of them was published, called "Songs from Bombay". This led to a trip through the Middle East, recording music in every country, as well as other projects.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.kevindaly.org.uk/posts/deben-bhattacharya-interviewed-by-kevin-1 | title=Deben Bhattacharya interviewed by Kevin Daly | publisher=www.kevindaly.org.uk | accessdate=17 February 2011}}</ref>

==Career==
Bhattacharya continued to earn international recognition as an expert on [[ethnic]] folk music, dance and poetry and was employed to help teach ethnic music and bring ethnic musicians to Sweden. Living for periods of time in London and [[Stockholm]] he began making films in 1962 when his BBC Third Programme producer, Robert Leighton, introduced him to [[David Attenborough]], who was then an executive at BBC Television. When Bhattacharya told him that he would be going to India with an experienced cameraman, Attenborough offered him £1,000 to help with his expenses. Upon his return, the BBC edited the material into two films: ''[[Kathakali]]'', the classical dance drama of [[South India]], and ''Storytellers From Rajastan''. Following this, [[Swedish Television]] gave him money to make a film in [[Hungary]]. This led to film making in [[Romania]], Tibet, China, [[Bangladesh]], [[Nepal]] and many other countries. Towards the end of his career, Bhattacharya had archived over 16,000 photographs related to his various projects.<ref>{{cite web |title=''Music According to Deben Bhattacharya'', a film by Stéphane Jourdain.|url=http://www.lahuit.com/en/content/music-according-deben-bhattacharya |website=La Huit |accessdate=22 March 2019}}</ref>

==Partial filmography==
* ''Waves of Joy: Anandalahari'', director and producer<ref name="bufvc">{{cite web |title=Results - British Universities Film & Video Council |url=http://bufvc.ac.uk/dvdfind/search.php?adv_index1=person&adv_q1=%22Deben+Bhattacharya%22 |website=British Universities Film & Video Council |accessdate=22 March 2019}}</ref>
* ''The Chanting Lama'', director
* ''Silk and Strings: Taiwan'', director
* ''Raga'',director
* ''Painted Ballad of India'', director
* ''Krishna in Spring'', director
* ''Jesus and the Fisherman'', director
* ''Faces of the Forest: The Santals of West Bengal'', director and producer<ref name="bufvc" />
* ''Echoes From Tibet'', director
* ''Buddha and the Rice-Planters'', director
* ''Ecstatic Circle: Turkey'', director (1972)
* ''Adaptable Kingdom: Music and Dance in Nepal'', director (1972)<ref>{{cite web | url= http://www.allmovie.com/artist/deben-bhattacharya-390703/filmography | title=Deben Bhattacharya filmography | publisher=www.allmovie.com | accessdate=17 February 2011}}</ref>
* ''The Land of Smiles: Thailand'', director and producer (1973)<ref name="bufvc" />
* ''Bali: The Isle of Temples'', director and producer (1973)<ref name="bufvc" />
* ''Chinese Opera'', director (1983)
* ''Uighurs on the Silk Route'', director (1985)<ref name="bfi film">{{cite web |title=Deben Bhattacharya - BFI |url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2ba36dee6e |website=BFI |accessdate=22 March 2019}}</ref>
* ''The Cosmic Dance of Shiva'', director (1986)<ref name="bfi film" />

==Partial discography==
* ''Music on the Desert Road: A Sound Travelogue by Deben Bhattacharya'' – Angel Records, recorded 1955, released 1958
* ''Bedouins of the Middle East, 1955–60'' – [[ARC Music]]
* ''The Living Tradition: Songs and Dance from Nepal by Deben Bhattacharya'' – The Decca Record Company, released 1974
* ''Sounds of West Sahara: Mauritania'' – ARC Music, recorded 1978, released 2004
* ''Maqams of Syria'' – ARC Music, released 2001
* ''River Songs of Bangladesh'' – ARC Music, released 2001
* ''Treasures in Sound – India'' – [[United Artists|UA International]], 1967
* ''Classical Ragas of India'' – [[Limelight Records]], 1968
* ''Inde: Musique populaire du Rajasthan (Music From the Indian Desert)'' – [[Ocora|Disques Ocora]], OCR 47, recorded January 1968
* ''The Living Tradition – Music From Turkey'' – [[Argo Records|Argo Records Ltd.]], 1968
* ''2 Ragas'' – [[Sveriges Radio]], 1969
* ''The Living Tradition – Music From Iran'' – Argo, 1971
* ''The Living Tradition – Songs of Krishna'' – Argo, 1971
* ''The Living Tradition – Music From Bangladesh'' – Argo, 1972
* ''The Living Tradition – Songs and Dances From Macedonia'' – Argo, 1972
* ''Folkmusik Från Rumänien'' – Caprice Records, 1972
* ''Musique folklorique du monde: Yougoslavie'' – [[Musidisc]]
* ''Musique folklorique du monde: Iran'' – Musidisc
* ''Musique folklorique du monde: Hongrie'' – Musidisc
* ''Sacred Temple Music of Tibet'' – ARC Music, 1998

==Books==
* {{cite book |title=Love Songs of Vidyapati|author=Vidyāpati Ṭhākura|author-link=Vidyapati|translator=Deben Bhattacharya|editor=W.G. Archer|isbn=9780048910035|publisher=George Allan & Unwin|year=1963}}
* {{cite book |title=Songs of the Bards of Bengal|author=Deben Bhattacharya|isbn=9780394173856|year=1970|publisher=Pgw}}
* {{cite book |title=Songs of the Qawals of India: Islamic Lyrics of Love and God|author=Deben Bhattacharya|publisher=HohmPress|isbn=9780970884503|year=2001}}
* {{cite book |title=Paris to Calcutta: Men and Music on the Desert Road|author=Deben Bhattacharya|publisher=[[Sublime Frequencies]]|year=2018|isbn=978-0-9966785-2-0}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110309201059/http://www.kevindaly.org.uk/category/friends-colleagues/ Interview with record producer Kevin Daly]
* [http://theworldjukebox.wordpress.com/2011/02/07/maqams-of-syria-field-recordings-by-deben-bhattacharya/ The World Jukebox field recordings]
* {{YouTube|8HfM51nYK8M|Cosmic dance of Shiva (excerpt)}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bhattacharya, Deben}}
[[Category:1921 births]]
[[Category:2001 deaths]]
[[Category:Bengali writers]]
[[Category:British radio producers]]
[[Category:BBC radio producers]]
[[Category:Indian documentary filmmakers]]
[[Category:Ethnomusicologists]]
[[Category:British documentary filmmakers]]
[[Category:British broadcasters]]
[[Category:British record producers]]
[[Category:British non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:British male poets]]
[[Category:20th-century British poets]]
[[Category:20th-century British translators]]
[[Category:20th-century British male writers]]
[[Category:20th-century musicologists]]
[[Category:20th-century British businesspeople]]
[[Category:Male non-fiction writers]]

Deben Bhattacharya - Revision history

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