Sisir Kana Dhar Chowdhury (also written Sisirkana Dhar Choudhury; 27 December 1937 – 9 March 2021)[1] introduced the viola to the Hindustani music sphere, and played a rare style of violin with an extra fifth melody string and sympathetic strings.
[4] She was a frequent performer on All India Radio and Television[2] Though it is difficult to find recordings and even more rare to find video of Chowdhury's performances, it is said that Chowdhury would often play the alaap of a piece on viola, and use violin for the remaining portion of the concert.
[1] In the 70's, she performed as a trio with Ali Akbar Khan and Nikhil Banerjee at many music conferences in Kolkata.
[1][6] Along with her interest in playing music, Chowdhury made contributions to the field of musicology.
[5] Her transcriptions were of a unique quality because she trained under Khan's son, giving her special insight.