Press

“A scholarly musician” by Meena Banerjee, The Hindu, Delhi, February, 2017

“… This time it was wonderful to find a few changes in the otherwise ‘fixed’ itinerary of this famed conference . Dhrupad exponent Nirmalya Dey’s name was one such pleasant surprise who featured in a jugalbandi with rudraveena exponent Bahauddin Dagar, ably supported by Sanjay Agle on the pakhawaj. As the second item of the second night, his voice enhanced the evocative beauty of an hour-long alap in raga Jog and further crystallised it with “Naad-bhed so nyaro”, steeped in spirituality, set to Teevra (tewra) taal …”
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“Colours of Life” by Anjana Rajan, The Hindu, Delhi, March 2014

“… Dhrupad is considered a niche art, which a few centuries ago gave way to Khayal in the popularity stakes. Today, with Khayal too considered niche, along with all the other Indian performance arts coming under the umbrella ‘classical’, where would Dhrupad stand? According to noted practitioner and teacher Pandit Nirmalya Dey, however, Dhrupad is both modern and rich and has a range of emotional contexts beyond the devotional. It needs to be properly propagated. By that he doesn’t mean specialised Dhrupad festivals either. “I dislike that. It should be presented along with other genres so that a greater number of people can have access to it,” says Dey.”
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“Colours of Life” by Anjana Rajan, The Hindu, Delhi, March 2014

“… That Nirmalya is a captivating performer was evident in his recitals at Manovikas Kendra and Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture recently. The mysterious sombre personality of raga Shri, the delicate beauty of Chhayanat, the pathos of juxtaposed notes in Gangeyopaseni and Shrutivardhini, the high-pitched zeal of Sohini — all were distinctly etched either by elaborate alaps or brief aochars. Clear ucchaar (enunciation), several shades of a given melodic phrase and variety of talas made his recitals very pleasing. ”

Performance at Tansen Festival, Gwalior

“…In the new generation of the Dagarvani, a shining name is Nirmalya Dey. Having been trained under the guidance of Ustad Fariduddin Dagar, he acquired with ease the deep essential aspects of this style of dhrupad and integrated them into his singing...”
Ravindra Mishra, Jansatta, Delhi (translation), December 2001

Performance at India International Centre, Delhi

“… he delighted and impressed me with an admirable, if brief, alapa in raga Pooriya. His alapa evolves, as it should, by degrees, patiently, reverentially. Further, he keeps his gamak ang passages duly controlled, so that they evoke the requisite air of power and depth without any offence to the listening ear; and in layakari, as incidental to the singing of dhrupad or dhamar, he takes care to avoid hacking words brutally into meaningless fragments. Dey’s rendition significantly discloses his indebtedness to Fariduddin Dagar, his teacher.... but I must give credit also to Dey's own commitment and aesthetic sense. I would indeed be surprised if he does not go far”
S.K. Saxena, Shruti, June 1999

Performance at Dhrupad Samaroha, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi

“ Nirmalya Dey is a popular performer of this generation. He plays a distinguished role to revive the culture of Dhrupad and inspire the youth with his mellifluous rendition...Nirmalya's voice resonates with the spirit and mood of the melody. He does not simply play the scale. His command over the tone and rhythm deserves a lot of acclamation.;”
Vijayshankar Mishra, Rashtriya Shahara, New Delhi (translation), February 1996

Performance at Musical tribute to the Late Ustad Zia Mohiuddin Dagar, Y. Chavan Hall, Mumbai

“ Rendition of Alap and Dhrupad in raga Puriya followed by Dhamar composition in raga Bihagda is an example of Nirmaly's accomplishment in imbibing the technique of vocal tradition in the Dagar School. His presentation was an experience of skillful voice representation adorned with unlimited melodic phrases;”
Madanlal Vyas, Navbharat Times, Mumbai (translation), December 1995

Performance at the three-day festival organized by Komal Nishad, Baroda

“… There are few Dhrupad singers today and this made Dey's recital more interesting. He began with a very elaborate alaap in the raga Bihag.... with such embellishments as meends, tihais and with his superb laykari, he made his recital very appealing.”
J.S. Pathak, The Times of India, Ahmedabad, January 1992

Performance at the three-day festival organized by Komal Nishad, Baroda

“ The three-day music festival...was a vehicle for journeying into the sub and supra conscious....the upcoming artiste Nirmalya Dey's alap, jod and jhala in raga Bihag showed his keen perception of the raga but the dhamar was presented in an authoritative manner. Dey is going to keep up the tradition of the Dagar Gharana of Dhrupadias. His 'Shiv Stuti' in raga Malkauns in 'Sulfaqta' tal was also full of heritage.”
Sarvesh Chandra Mathur, Indian Express, Vadodara, January 1992

Indian Express, 17 September 1991

“ … The evening started with the presentation of Dhrupad by Nirmalya Dey. Dhrupad is one of the richest and oldest forms of Indian classical music which has been cultivated by the stalwarts like Swami Haridas of Vrindavan and Sangeet Samrat Tansen. In this style equal emphasis is laid on all the three aspects (i.e. Swara, Tal and Kavya) of music. Beauty of the Dagarvani style of Dhrupad lies in its Alap, Jodand Jhala. … Komal Nishad needs to be congratulated for making that evening so memorable .”