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{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Debopriya Chatterjee and Suchismita Chatterjee
| image =
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| birth_name =
| alias =
| birth_date =
| birth_place = [[Allahabad]], India
| origin =
| instrument = Indian Flute or [[Bansuri]]
| genre = [[Hindustani classical music]]
| occupation = Flautists
| years_active = 1998
| label =
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| website =
}}
[[File:Hariprasad_Chaurasia_01.jpg|right|thumb|Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia playing the [[bansuri]]]]
'''Debopriya Chatterjee''' and '''Suchismita Chatterjee''' are sisters by birth, popularly known as the "flute sisters". They are Indian [[Hindustani music]] artists who play instrumental [[Bansuri|Indian flute]] music.

==Early life==
Born into a well-known family of musicians in [[Allahabad]], the Chatterjee sisters were prompted to learn flute by their parents<ref name=Dev>{{cite news|url=http://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/screen/blowing-in-the-wind/|title=Blowing in the wind|date= 5 February 2014|accessdate=13 January 2016|work=Indian Express}}</ref> Robin and Krishna Chatterjee,<ref name="Chittorgarh">{{cite web|last1=Chittorgarh|first1=Manik|title=Flute Sisiters Suchismita & Debopriya|url=http://spicmacay.apnimaati.com/2013/04/flute-sisiters-suchismita-debopriya.html|publisher=Apni Maati|accessdate=15 February 2016|location=Mumbai, India|date=6 April 2013}}</ref> who were classical Hindustani vocalists. Robin, whose work led the family to live in [[Afghanistan]] for a time,<ref name="Dev" /> suggested to his daughters that they become flautists, to fulfill a dream he had never been able to live up to.<ref name=Sisters>{{Cite web|url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2013/20131026/ttlife1.htm|title=Flute flight |date= 26 October 2013|accessdate=13 January 2016|work=Tribune India Magazine}}</ref> After returning to India, the sisters began their flute training under the tutelage of
Pandit [[Bholanath Prasanna]]. In their teenage years, they began studying with flautist guru [[Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia]].<ref name="The Daily Star">{{cite news|title=Flute Sisters|url=http://archive.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=177561|accessdate=15 February 2016|work=The Daily Star|date=14 March 2011|location=New Delhi, India}}</ref><ref name="Sisters" />

After completing their basic education, the sisters were awarded the Nuffic scholarship from the Indian Embassy in The Netherlands. They studied world music at the [[Codarts#Rotterdam Conservatory|Rotterdam Conservatory]], earning a certification with distinction for ''Uitvoerend Musicus'' (Performing Musician) and ''Docenten Musicus'' (Music Teacher) in 1998. Returning to India, they then completed a ''Sangeet Prabhakar'' (bachelor of music degree) from [[Prayag Sangeet Samiti]] in [[Allahabad]] in 2001. They were honoured with the performance medals for flute, with Suchismita getting the gold and Debopriya earning the silver medal. They continued at Prayag Sangeet Samiti, earning a ''Sangeet Pravin'' (master's degree of music) in 2005 with their medal positions reversed—Debopriya received gold and Suchismita, silver.<ref name="Chittorgarh" />

They are both married and have children. While Suchismita lives in [[Pune]], Debopriya makes her home in [[Mumbai]].<ref name=Dev/>

==Career==
In 1995, the sisters debuted in [[Bombay]] at the ''Sampoorna Yugal Sangeet Ratri'' music conference. The program was telecast and earned them recognition for their performance of [[Hindustani classical music|Indian classical music]] on the [[bansuri]].<ref name="Chittorgarh" /> They have played as a duo and were also accompanied their guru, performing flute concerts not only in India but abroad as well.<ref name="The Daily Pioneer">{{cite news|title=Chatterjee sisters’ flute performances from today|url=http://www.dailypioneer.com/state-editions/dehradun/chatterjee-sisters-flute-performances-from-today.html|accessdate=15 February 2016|publisher=The Daily Pioneer|date=17 September 2013|location=New Delhi}}</ref> They continued to win accolades from various public platforms where they performed. The sisters have also provided background music for TV serials such as [[Afsar Bitiya]], [[Balika Vadhu]] and [[Crime Patrol (TV series)|Crime Patrol]].<ref name=Sisters/> They believe that playing as a duo, known in Indian classical music as [[jugalbandi]],<ref name="Chittorgarh" /> is an advantage on the flute, as the instrument cannot be [[Musical tuning|tuned]], forcing the artist to adjust to the instrument. They consider their skills to be complementary, as they claim to have different strengths.<ref name=Dev/>

As of 2016, the sisters are in their mid-thirties and enjoy a reputation as popular female flautists in India.<ref name="Dev" /><ref name="The Daily Star" /> Concerning this, Suchismita says: "I think it is due to a lack of prominent women flautists that girls these days don't think of it as an instrument to be played by women... We had no woman role model when we were growing up. One of the things we can do to change that is teach other children ourselves".<ref name="Dev" /> To that end, the sisters have worked with several organisations, like the Society for the Promotion of Indian Classical Music and Culture Amongst Youth, to give interactive performances for students in order for them to learn about India's musical heritage.<ref name="The Daily Pioneer" /><ref name="Times of India">{{cite news|title=Flute sisters enthrall students at Queens' college|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/indore/Flute-sisters-enthrall-students-at-Queens-college/articleshow/21351500.cms|accessdate=15 February 2016|work=The Times of India|date=26 July 2013|location=Mombai, India}}</ref> In January 2014, the sisters gave a presentation combining talk and musical demonstrations at a cultural programme organized by the Symbiosis Institute of Mass Communications of Pune. They consider the flute to be "a full-fledged member of the Indian classical music family". The sisters hold that at its root, the flute is a folk instrument with a history embedded by legends of the [[Mahabharata]] period when [[Krishna]] wooed [[gopis]] with his bansuri or flute.<ref name=Dev/>

Debopriya Chatterjee received a [[Sangeet Natak Academy]] award in the Hindustani Instrumental category as a flute artist from the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar (Prize to Young Artists) in 2008.<ref name=Natak>{{Cite web|url=http://sangeetnatak.gov.in/sna/yuva2008.htm |title=Debopriya Chatterjee: Hindustani Instrumental – Flute |date=2008 |accessdate=13 January 2016 |publisher=Sangeey Natak Academy, Government of India |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20151002100936/http://sangeetnatak.gov.in/sna/yuva2008.htm |archivedate=2 October 2015 }}</ref> Both are graded artists of [[Akashvani (radio broadcaster)|Aakashwani]].<ref name="Chittorgarh" /><ref name="The Daily Star" /> They were honored as ''Sur Mani'' at the ''Kal Ke Kalakar'' conference in 2001. They have also been featured performers at ''Swami Haridas Sangeet Sammelan'', a noted Indian classical music conference.<ref name="Chittorgarh" />

== References ==
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[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Indian flautists]]
[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]

Debopriya and Suchismita Chatterjee - Revision history

>PrimeBOT at 00:14, 17 May 2021