THT & Tajdar Junaid present Ruuh-Bakhsh

About Ruuh Bakhsh

Ruuh-Bakhsh is formed by Tajdar Junaid, Satyaki Banerjee and Rabi Mondal in an effort to play and conserve folk music. (erstwhile named Ruhaniyat) "Ruuh-Bakhsh (Ruhaniyat) are a folk band with edge from the Indian city of Calcutta"

Tajdar Junaid is a Film Composer and Music Producer based out of Mumbai with his roots in Calcutta. His collaborations include work across mediums - composing for Iranian filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Coke Studio Bharat, Spanish animated feature Sultana’s Dream, Emma Thompson’s Sold, amongst many others. His passion resides with world cinema, long walks in nature and teaching young minds as a visiting faculty at National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad and Indian Institute of Management Calcutta. The films that he has composed for have gone on to be nominated in The Best Documentary Feature category at The Oscars (Writing with Fire, 2022) Nomination for Best Animation Film at The Goya Awards (Sultana’s Dream, 2024) National Film Award (Mukti Bhawan/Hotel Salvation, 2017) More of his musical ventures at http://www.tajdarjunaid.com/

Satyaki Banerjee is a highly eclectic musician who has a natural affinity for plucked instruments, both classical and folk. He studied the sarod with the late Pandit Dipak Chowdhury and now trains under Pandit Tejendra Narayan Majumdar. He picked up the dotara in the company of practising folk musicians and in him folk and classical elements meld and mix to evolve into a unique style of playing. He is also a self-taught oud and rabab player, besides being a magnificent singer of mostly Bengali mystical poetry, in the baul and kirtan traditions. He works independently and with other artistes and theatre groups, including with singer-songwriter/ethnomusicologist Moushumi Bhowmik, actor Gautam Haldar and performer/academic Sudipto Chatterjee. He is the organising secretary of Kolkata's major folk event, the Baul Fakir Utsav. Satyaki is a historian by training and takes serious academic interest in the music he practices. Satyaki has performed at prestigious music festivals like the Rainforest world music festival in Malaysia, theatre festivals in Bangladesh, House of World Culture in Berlin.

Rabi Mondal is a folk musician from Shantiniketan, the land of folklore and travelling minstrels. He has been groomed in the tradition of Baul, the mystical poets of Bengal. He has performed with acclaimed artists such as Moushumi Bhowmik, Pt. Tanmoy Bose (Pt.Ravi Shankar’s Tabla player) and has been a part of the prestigious Coke Studio TV series which focuses on bringing musicians from different genres together. He has an ashram in his native village that he takes care of and spends time farming, carpentry and crafting musical instruments. Rabi sings and performs with the dotara, khamak, dupki and various folk percussion instruments.

As a folk band, Ruuh-Bakhsh, has performed at various festivals in India and internationally, namely at the Barbican in London, Celtic festival in Scotland, Blue Frog in Mumbai,India amongst others.

The Humming Tree:

The Humming Tree - A grassroots performance venue in Bangalore, running from 2013 to 2019 and in the process becoming a cornerstone of Bangalore’s independent music, art, and cultural ecosystem.

Now, in 2026, The Humming Tree is back in a brand-new, purpose-designed space in Indiranagar. Built across 12,000 sq. ft., the venue features a 600+ capacity performance space, world-class sound and lighting systems, and a diverse F&B proposition. More than just a venue, it’s a hub for creativity, culture and collaboration.