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Srabani Sen – Rabindra Sangeet Revisited

By Kaustav Goswami | September 7, 2008

Srabani Sen – Rabindra Sangeet Revisited

Srabani Sen

As you enter the lush green premises of 58/3, Ballygunge Circular Road, one of Kolkata’s sky-high apartments, Saptaparni, the welcome notes of the cuckoo amidst an aura of nature’s comforting stealth, welcomes a weary traveller on a scorching May afternoon and guides him to the fourth floor at the farthest corner.Now,as you close the collapsible gates of the elevator with a cacophonous clatter and press the doorbell,you will inevitably be greeted warmly by the sparkling chuckle of a lady, clad in a traditional ”kantha stitch” saree or a ‘’salwar kameez”. Her face, bereft of a tint of make up and the unassuming cordiality doesn’t exude any of the quintessential traits of a celebrity——-I am talking about SRABANI SEN, the leading lady of Rabindrasangeet circuit, a name which has become synonymous with Tagore’s music,a name which has won hearts of unnumbered listeners, and connoisseurs both at home and abroad, all at the age of thirty-something!

The younger daughter of the veteran Rabindrasandgeet exponent, Smt.Sumitra Sen, sibling of the prolific singer Indrani Sen, Srabani had no plans of embarking on a musical career following the footsteps of her illustrious predecessors. For this post-graduate student of Geography, jornalism was the first choice. Srabani has worked with one of the most popular women’s maganize initially, as a Music Critic and then as an Editor for many years.”How did the shift happen?”‘

‘It was an accident”,smiles Rupudi (the name she’s popularly known with in the music circle).”I was never so very focussed and dedicated like didibhai (Indrani Sen),naturally the lion’s share of parental attention went to her”. While the elder sister would sit with the taanpura for her rigorous riyaaz sessions the younger one would while away her leisure hours playing cricket with her school mates or showcase her percussion skills on the tabla.Srabani came out with flying colours from Geetabitan,and accolades started showering in from stalwarts like Maya Sen, Arghya Sen and others. She cut her debut album of Rabindrasangeet, Aamar Ekti Kotha(1993) from Soundwing followed by Bondhu Roho Shathey (1996).

The year 2000 was a landmark year in Srabani’s career. Her soulful rendition of Amala Dhabala Paaley in ace director Rituparno Ghosh’s film, Utsab won her the prestigious B.F.J.A award for the best female playback singer. Since then this die-hard fan of Sagar Sen has been going places giving startling performances at U.K, Connecticut, Florida, Doha, Qatar, Australia, Bangladesh and needless to mention all across the country, from Lucknow to Bangalore, Mumbai to Agartala. ”I sing for the masses”, admits the singer with an unassuming candour. ”’if some experimental effort can bring Tagore closer to gen Y,why not?” Srabani’s innovative ideas with orchestration and stage presentation has made her one of the most sought after performers of Tagore songs.She can cast a spell on the audience with her profoundly resonant and humid voice even after a rocking BAND performance. An indispensable presence at all Rabindrasangeet soirees, Srabani Sen has sung for critically acclaimed films like Dekha(Goutam Ghosh), Baariwali(Rituparno Ghosh), Swapner Feriwalla(Subrata Sen), Sanjhbaatir Rupkothara(Anjan Das), Ballygunge Court (Pinaki Choudhury), Hemanter Pakhi (Urmi Chakroborty) and a host of telefilms and television serials. She had the opportunity to lend her voice for the internationally acclaimed production of danseuse Tanushree Shankar, Chironton, where the legendary Amitabh Bachhan had narrated the script. When asked about her future plans,she says,”I want to carry forward my mother’s heritage and do something productive for my students who are very close to me. ”Srabani has released a cd called ‘ ‘Aaro Aalo” with some of her promising disciples. In this age of gross materialism, where nothing seems unconditional and where words like guru-shishya parampara have taken a backseat,there are good souls like Rupudi who can take some time off from their hectic schedule to ponder over those flickers , which can ignite any moment.

At the end of a busy day as Srabani reclines on her sofa and sends her emotive eyes through the casement like window towards the vernal sky, the cuckoo’s song now mingles with her humming ”modhuritu jagey dibanishi,piko kuhorito dishidishi” to create a perfect euphony.

Author:
Kaustav Goswami