Podcast Summary: All Of It with Alison Stewart — Get Lit: Purbayan Chatterjee Performs

Date: March 27, 2026
Episode Theme:
A rich conversation and performance with virtuosic sitar player Purbayan Chatterjee, exploring musical fusion, tradition, and innovation, in celebration of the book club selection "A Guardian and a Thief" by Megha Majumdar.

Main Theme & Purpose

Alison Stewart’s “All Of It” episode spotlights Purbayan Chatterjee, a versatile sitar player from Kolkata, India. The episode connects music and literature, highlighting the intersections between Indian classical traditions and global jazz influences, in tandem with the book club pick centered on a future Kolkata. Chatterjee performs live, discusses his artistic journey, and offers insights into blending musical languages and cultures.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Live Performance: Raga Yaman Kalyan

• [00:39–07:14]
  • Purbayan Chatterjee opens with a live sitar performance in collaboration with tabla player Vivek Bandia.
  • The piece, "Raga Yaman Kalyan," blends classical Indian sensibility with dynamic improvisations.
  • Memorable moment: The performance receives an enthusiastic response from Alison and the audience.

2. Musical Roots and Influences

• Shredding on the Sitar

  • [07:31] Interviewer: “Can I say that you were shredding your sitar?”
  • [07:35] Chatterjee: “You’re allowed to say that.”
  • Chatterjee describes how watching guitarists, especially jazz musicians, influenced his sitar technique, fostering experimentation and genre cross-pollination.

• Meeting Pat Metheny

  • [07:46] Chatterjee: “I had the good fortune of hanging out and meeting Pat Metheny here in New York… He played my sitar and I played his guitar. And that’s how it all started.”
  • Initiated deeper exploration into jazz and global sounds.

3. Fusion: Bridging Eastern and Western Traditions

• Embracing Jazz

  • [08:25] Chatterjee: “Early 2000s is when I started listening to a lot of, you know, Miles Davis, Ornette Coleman… and then this meeting with Pat Metheny was in 2009.”
  • Connecting with musicians like Chick Corea, Béla Fleck, and Snarky Puppy expanded his musical vocabulary.

• Challenges of Fusion

  • [09:04] Chatterjee:
    • “Every kind of musical culture has its own language and own building blocks. In our case, it's the raga… When you try to connect with Western forms… there’s a whole world of harmony out there.”
    • Shares a quote from Ustad Zakir Hussain:

      “Tradition is a point in time to which we feel like we are tethered. But it's also a moving point because we redefine tradition at several points in time.”

  • Chatterjee’s philosophy: Honor both inherited language and contemporary relevance when composing.

4. Origins and Personal Journey

• Prodigious Beginnings
  • [10:26] Chatterjee: “I started when I was five years old, so… very long time.”
  • Began with vocal music at age three, sitar at five; trained under his father, also his guru.
  • [10:38] Chatterjee: “I fought hard with my mom… I always thought that I could do this and make a living. And I think she had her doubts about it. I got a lot of support from my dad, though, because he was my guru and is my guru…he’s a musician himself.”
  • Chose music as a calling during his college years at Presidency College in Kolkata.

5. Unreleased Work & Creative Process

• Ode to Kolkata

  • [11:45] Chatterjee: “I wrote that song [for Kolkata], finished the production, got some 32 different artists, some of whom are no more…then I moved from Kolkata to Mumbai. So I guess I was a little ashamed to publish a song about Kolkata at that point.”
  • Deep personal ties to his hometown shape his creative expression.

• Upcoming Album Preview

  • [12:14] Chatterjee: Collaboration with Mark Lettieri (Snarky Puppy) for a new album mixing raga music, funk, jazz, and modern electronica.

    “This album has a lot of tradition and a lot of what’s considered contemporary.”

6. Music, Genres, and Human Behavior

• Universal Connection
  • [12:56] Chatterjee:

    “The fundamentals are the same across cultures, across different countries in the globe. It’s only the specifics which differ…as you interact with a larger number of people from larger number of cultures, you begin to learn more about yourself…that’s what goes into writing a book or writing a piece of music.”

  • Emphasizes learning and empathy across disciplines, linking music-making to broader human experiences.

7. Big Ears Music Festival & Outreach

• Spreading Indian Classical Music
  • [13:58] Chatterjee: “I think I’m going to be reaching out to an audience which is probably relatively uninitiated to Indian classical music. So I want to be able to spread the word…people are always talking about how spiritual and serene it is, which it is. But it’s also a lot of fun.”
  • Eager to share the joy and vibrancy of Indian music with new listeners.

8. Live Performance: "Mishra Pahadi"

• [14:27–17:27]
  • Chatterjee plays “Mishra Pahadi,” a raga with folk undertones and a 6/8 rhythmic cycle.
  • Announces it will appear on a future album, highlighting his ongoing creative process.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Naming a Sitar Performance:

  • [07:31] Interviewer: “Can I say that you were shredding your sitar?”
  • [07:35] Chatterjee: “You’re allowed to say that.”

• On Tradition:

  • [09:04] Chatterjee, quoting Zakir Hussain:

    “Tradition is a point in time to which we feel like we are tethered. But it’s also a moving point…”

• On Cultural Universality:

  • [12:56] Chatterjee:

    “The fundamentals are the same across cultures…as you interact with a larger number of people from larger number of cultures, you begin to learn more about yourself.”

• On the Joy of Indian Music:

  • [13:58] Chatterjee:

    “…people are always talking about how spiritual and serene it is, which it is. But it’s also a lot of fun.”

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:39 — Episode context: Kolkata, “A Guardian and a Thief,” guest intro
• 07:15 — Performance recap; Raga Yaman Kalyan named
• 08:10 — Influences from jazz greats and guitarist Pat Metheny
• 09:04 — Philosophical musings on tradition and fusion
• 10:26 — Early musical journey and family influences
• 11:45 — The unreleased Kolkata song story
• 12:14 — Details on upcoming album and collaboration
• 12:56 — Reflections on music, genre, and human behavior
• 13:58 — Anticipation for Big Ears Festival, the joy of Indian music
• 14:27 — Second live performance: “Mishra Pahadi”

Conclusion

This episode uses music as a lens into culture, creativity, and community. Purbayan Chatterjee's story exemplifies how blending tradition with innovation can forge new artistic paths, and how music, like literature, is a universal language that bridges differences while celebrating individuality.