GUWAHATI: Son of late Dr Prasanna Kr Goswami, a Xatriya dance exponent and Aroti Goswami, an A-grade radio artist, Partha Pratim Goswami is a self-taught drummer from Guwahati who has had the opportunity to perform with some of the most renowned Indian artists like Shaan, Zubeen Garg, Abhijeet, Remo Fernandez and Mahalaxmi Iyer.
Born in Guwahati, Partha pursued initial education from Holy Cross School in Silchar before moving back to his hometown to study at Don Bosco School. He further graduated in Arts stream from Cotton College.
From class 7 onwards, he started performing with the top bands and artists of the region before finally moving to Mumbai in 1995. Apart from performing with the famed artists, Partha became a full-time music arranger who has worked for companies like Sony, T Series, Universal and Crescendo. He also did re-mix arrangements for Anu Malik, Pritam, Himesh Reshamiya and Akbar Sammy, to name a few.
Speaking to G Plus about his association with Zubeen Garg, Partha said, “Zubeen is more of a friend to me than an artist. We have been friends for over 30 years now and have also stayed together at a studio apartment in Mumbai for many years. When we perform together, we perform as friends and not as two professionals.”
Partha has been performing live in many countries and has featured in many popular TV as well as radio shows for over four decades now. Recalling his fondest memory, Partha told G Plus, “Every show has its own experience and it’s difficult to differentiate between them. However, my tour to South Africa with Joi Barua was an experience unparalleled – hearing the audience sing traditional Bihu and Assamese songs gave us goose bumps.
The famed percussionist feels that the music scene in Assam is in a pathetic state due to piracy. He says that piracy has spoilt the music business as artists have become apprehensive about releasing new albums due to fear of piracy.
“Assam’s music scene is constantly deteriorating because of untrained artists trying to sing professionally for personal gain with the aim to quickly rise to fame. I request such artists to gather formal training before getting on the stage and not to use cheap lyrics to gain attention because such gimmicks do not last long,” he added.
Apart from being a performer, Partha is also a teacher of music. With the aim to pass on his talent to the future generation, he runs ‘Shankh - the school of music’ for genuine music students. The school imparts training on vocals, drums, guitar, keyboards as well as piano. Being a non-profit organisation, the music school imparts free training to the differently-abled. Music sensations of Assam Diganta Bharati, Zubeen Garg, Zublee Baruah, Madhurjoy Bordoloi, Bhaswati Bharoti are all associated with the school.
Partha has also been associated with the Zublee Foundation ever since its inception four years ago. “Zublee Foundation is the only NGO in the entire northeast India which is working towards creating awareness of organ donation. I strongly believe in the cause of organ donation and wish to make Assam the land of immortals. Thus, I’m an active part of the foundation,” he expressed.
A percussionist of par excellence, Partha is a recipient of many prestigious awards and accolades, including the Best Drummer Award at Mood Indigo Fest of IIT Mumbai and Best Drummer (Western) at All India Contest held at Delhi. He has also been bestowed with the title of ‘Mou Konwar’ by Dr Bhupen Hazarika and has been the first junior artist to perform on Delhi and Mumbai Doordarshan, and open the cultural night of ITF at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. Partha has performed across the globe bringing laurels to the state of Assam.