53 year old Rajbongshi, Santosh Dakuya is an amazing musician who both makes instruments and plays them. His initiation into music started under his father, who too was a folk musician, singing and playing various instruments. After he lost his parents at the age of 14, Santosh tried his hand at making instruments, influenced by his grandfather, who owned a Kushan pala group. Travelling around with the group, Santosh gradually honed his skills at making various instruments. For about three years, he also received training on instrument playing from his guru, Phul Kumar Barman, a harmonium player who was part of the group.
About a decade ago, he returned to his village and settled down, after acquiring a piece of land on which he built his home. He is happiest however when travelling around with performing groups. He has two sons and a daughter - but feels that they lack the requisite musical skills and do not share his passion for music.
Santosh has made numerous instruments like the Aar Bnaashi, Mokha Bnaashi, Bena, Dotara, Sarinja, violin, Khamok and Ektara. He does not make these commercially however but is happy to make them on request. He has made Benas for the various Kushan groups he has moved around with since his teens - about seven in all, but there is no demand for this instrument any more. He usually crafts an instrument only when he requires it to accompany a particular genre of song. Santosh is uncompromising on the quality of his stringed instruments and uses only horse hair, going to great lengths to procure it, if needed. He would earlier accompany Padabali Kirtans with the violin, but he now focusses on flutes (Aar Bnaashi) mainly and this is what he plays most of the time.
Santosh primarily accompanies folk performers, usually kirtan groups, as a music hand, playing on instruments including the tabla, harmonium and flute . He also sings occasionally, but confesses that his singing is not appreciated very much. He has also got some training in classical music - with the help of a few masters and some books. His meagre education up to Class II did not stand in his way!
Other than West Bengal, Santosh has performed in many places, including Tripura, Assam and the Suraj Kund Mela in Haryana - accompanying Bhawaiya, Padmapuran gaan (Bishohora), Naam Kirtan, Padabali Kirtan, Jatra and Kushan Jatra performers and a large variety of Rajbongshi folk plays on the flute, violin etc. He performs less for Kushan jatra however, because these are usually daily shows extending over numerous villages for 20 to 30 days at a time. One performance often leads to an invitation for the next. Santosh cannot afford to be away from his family for long stretches and finds it more convenient to work in short bursts.
For all his talent, Santosh earns only Rs 300 or Rs 400 from each performance, and is away no more than 45 days each year, including travel time. During the off season, which is from the summer till the end of the monsoons (Baisakh to Kartik), he does small jobs as a daily wage earner on people`s fields. He also tutors a few students in far off villages on the flute and the violin - for a paltry fee. Yet this remarkable man is contented with his lot. It is his music that keeps this quiet and unassuming man going.
Santosh lives in the village of Chhoto Shalbari under Nagururhat post office and Boxirhat police station in Cooch Behar district.