Bangla Sangeet Mela 2009 – Review

Poila Boishakh is heralded every year in Bengal with the inauguration of a week long carnival of music by the ministry of Information  and Cultural Affairs, Govt. of West Bengal.All the genres of Bengali music,right from Tagore to the gen y craze Bangla band are given their due shares of reverence in this occasion.This year’s fest was spread across five venues—Rabindra Sadan,Shishir Manch,Girish Manch,Madhusudan Manch, and Mohorkunja(named in memory of the legendary Kanika Banerjee). Apart from soirees the fest was also marked by display of the latest releases from different recording companies,seminars and the quintessential Bengali adda among the music lovers.

Sangeet Mela primarily focuses on the resurgence of contemporary Bengali music.Along with veterans,the present generation singers share the stage with their popular numbers.Sangeet Mela witnessed a jampacked auditorium on some of the days; stars of yesteryears like Subir Sen(Eto shur aar eto gaan),Banashri Sengupta(Moynamotir pother dharey,Aj bikeler daakey),Madhuri Chatterji(Nijere Haraye Khunji),Nirmala Mishra(O tota pakhi rey) regaled the listeners with their evergreen songs.What was worthpraising was veterans like Pintu Bhattacharya and Madhuri Chatterji were escorted and accompanied on the harmonium by singers Sreekanto Acharya and Saikat Mitra.While Singers like Tapan Roy and Prahlad Brahmachari lived upto the expectations of the audience in their folk songs,bands Bhumi,Chandrabindu gave some powerhouse performances.Rabindra Sangeet singers who left an indelible impact include Srabani Sen(Jetey Jetey Ekla Pothey) Pubali Debnath and Agnibha Banerjee.Albums like Geetinandan(Pandit Ajoy Chakraborty) Pathik Paran,Diganter Gaan(Srabani Sen),Mon Rey Amar(Indrani Sen),Probaashi Pakhi(Swagatalakshmi Dasgupta) were also released during the week long carnival.However,according to a representative from a premier music company,the bulk of the crowd is non –musical,and the sales report is also in a sorry state.

The programme on the concluding session was attended by Chief Minister,Shri Buddhadev Bhattacharya. There was a chaotic rush for the tickets as the last day featured most of the eminent singers of this generation along with some seniors—-Monomoy,Sreekanto Acharya,Shubhomita,Jayati Chakraborty,Sreeradha Banerjee,Arundhati Holme Choudhury,Adhir Bagchi,Anup Ghoshal,Swagatalakshmi Dasgupta.While Anup Ghoshal sounded monotonous with his ‘Gupi-Bagha’ num,bers,Monomoy was at home with Moner Manush and the Tagore number,Tumi Robey Nirobey.Jayati left an imprint of her impeccable taiyari in Megher Baari.But the show was stolen by Sreeradha Banerjee who was flooded with requests—–she started off with Ami Abar Shohoj Hobo,and belted out hits like Banshitar Ektai Dosh and Shoyoney Shoponey.

Sangeet Mela is indeed a place where any music lover would love to pay a visit,but of course the authorities should not include some below-average newcomers who are agonizingly

inaudible and who pale into insignificance right after they leave the stage.

Gaanmela Reporter:
Kaustav Goswami

Srabani Sen Exclusive Interview
Srabani Sen is one of the most eminent Rabindrasangeet singers of our time. She is also the daughter of the legendary Rabindrasangeet singer Sumitra Sen and the sister of versatile singer Indrani Sen. The extremely talented and musically gifted singer talks to Gaanmela. Please watch Srabani Sen’s exclusive interview at gaanmela and explore the many dimensions of Srabani Sen as a singer and a nice & kind-hearted person. Interview and write up is by Gaanmela journalist Kaustav Goswami, also a disciple of Srabani Sen

As we entered the lush green premises of Saptaparni,one of Kolkata’s sky high apartments, the welcome notes of cuckoo guided us to the sixth floor at the farthest corner. Srabanidi, clad in a bottle green salwar kameez, was waiting for us; for me, it was going to be a lifetime experience, as I had never imagined in wildest of my dreams that I would be interviewing my GURU, someone whom I grew up listening to, the person who taught me to love Rabindra Sangeet. I had lots of queries,despite the fact that I knew many unexplored aspects of Srabanidi’s eventful life.

GAANMELA.COM had given me this opportunity of sharing these interesting anecdotes with all her admirers across the world.

Listen and watch to the Srabani Sen Exclusive Interview by Gaanmela.

Buy Srabani Sen Songs online and listen to the promotional clips on Gaanmela Radio.

Gaanmela Q1. Today, I’m here on behalf of gaanmela.com. Didi, how are you feeling today?

Srabani Sen: I usually feel good most of the time, but today it’s a special day, because one of my favourite students is going to take an interview, I share a different rapport with them, anyways, It would be great fun and my thanks to Arunava and best wishes to gaanmela.com for such a novel concept in promoting Bengali music.

Srabanidi hummed ‘Tumi Khushi Thako’and set the tune for the day’s hectic, yet melodious schedule. From Saptaparni we reached Utsav Foundation, where she would be taking her class.We could hear strains of a puja paryay number,’Shunyo hatey phiri hey’and waited till she wound up.

Gaanmela Q2. Didi,on 1 st January,2009 you were declared the’ popularmost Rabindrasangeet singer of the year’according to viewers poll by Tara Muzik. There were senior artistes like Mohan Singh, Rezwana Choudhury. What was the first reaction when you came to know about it?

Srabani Sen: First of all, very candidly speaking, I personally don’t like this concept of sms voting Anyway, I really didn’t take it seriously though people were calling me up and telling , didi,all the best. Actually I was confined to home for more than a month with my broken arm then.On 31 st December evening, someone from the channel called me up and told me that viewers had chosen me. It was an exhilarating moment, but I would rather say, it made me happy because I accepted the award on behalf of all the singers of Rabindrasangeet.Specially getting a nomination with senior singers such as Mohanda was itself a matter of luck.Secondly, the recognition was for Rabindrasangeet—that made me more happy.

Gaanmela Q3. Many of us know that unlike Indranidi, you were not really keen on music. You were chirpy, fidgety, and happy-go-lucky kind in your childhood days. Can you take us down the memory lane?

Srabani Sen: Sure—-‘didibhai’ was a dedicated learner of music, right from her school days, and my only job was to assist her as a tabla player. I used to play with her kheyal, dhrupad, dhamar and she would procure the 1 st prize from everywhere. So, this inclination towards rhythm was there in me. Even today, unless Swapan or Siddhartha (though both of them are extremely gifted musicians) take right `theka’, I feel very restless, as the rhythm pattern for a particular song is there in my mind. Anyways, my early childhood days were spent at Rifle Range Road before we moved on to Saptaparni, where I had become immensely popular because of my antics. I used to play hockey with `laathi’ and `nuri’. As a cricketer, I was heavily in demand, friends from the neighbouring paras used to hire me as a batsman in lieu of cakes and pastries.

Gaanmela Q4.Did Sumitra Aunty never scold you for not taking up music seriously?

Srabani Sen: Yeah,very much. She used to say,`don’t you see, didibhai is being appreciated so much for her sincerity?’ But I never took all this seriously. It was only when my father took me to Geetabitan I started enjoying music. The teachers were so good, and my fellowmates too. Even there I would play tabla with my classmates and get scoldings from the teachers for not concentrating in my own lessons. Lopa (singer, Lopamudra Mitra) was one of my batchmates there. Even now, whenever I get time I pay a visit to my alma mater as it makes me so nostalgic!

Gaanmela Q5.. How were you initiated into Tagore’s music then?

Srabani Sen: I did my schooling from Pathabhavan, there Smt.Supurna Choudhury used to take our music classes. She used to keep insisting me to learn Rabindrasangeet seriously. But, believe me, I never had any plans to take up music professionally. It all happened accidentally.

Gaanmela Q6. Many of us don’t know that you started off your career as a journalist, and then went on to become the sub-editor of a women’s magazine. How did it happen?

Srabani Sen: I had just taken my M.Sc exams when my father passed away untimely. I was very depressed then, as I could not decide what was in store for me. Either I had to go for a P.hd or sing, didibhai took me to Pushan Gupta of Aajkal and he gave me an opportunity to write for the music section. It was then when I realized that being a journalist its so easy to pen down few lines criticizing an artist’s performance, but how difficult it is to perform for a singer. Now I understand a singer might not be in a mental state to sing on the d-day, but all that matters is the one day performance, and journalists wait for the occasion so that they can vilify a singer. So, after realizing this I quit reviewing. But after I joined Manorama magazine (where I used to write on a wide array of topics—fashion, travel, cuisines)I was really enriched as I got to hear different genres of music. Indian Classical, Folk, Ghazal, Pop and what not.

My greatest achievement was my meeting with the legendary R.D.Burman who had come down to Kolkata for my sister’s recording. He was so humble that he introduced himself to me. (nomoshkaar, amar naam Rahul Dev Burman). He was so decent and and answered allmy queries. I also had the opportunity of interviewing Remo Fernandez, and the last representative of the Bishnupur ghrana, whom we used to call `thakuma’. All these experiences have really enriched me and made me feel extremely honoured.

Gaanmela Q7. Srabonidi, you entered the music circuit when Indranidi was at her peak—-now, ironically many listeners say that the younger sister has proved herself to be superior so far as Rabindrasangeet is concerned. How do you react to this?

Srabani Sen: First of all, you ought not have asked this question (because its you), and secondly let me clarify that I didn’t have the opportunity or rather dedication to learn music properly. Didibhai is a devotee of music; she is a genius,comparisons happen between equals—-she is so superior, my God! I can’t think of it even. People who go into such comparisons only have one intention. They want to create a rift between the sisters. But she is like a mother figure for me. So, I don’t want to hear such comparisons any more.

Gaanmela Q8. Late Pijushkanti Sarkar writes in ‘Rabindrasageet er Robinhood’ Srabani is one singer who will rule the Rabindrasangeet circuit of in next few years. He was a great admirer of your songs.

Srabani Sen: I have seen so many singers since my childhood days, but believe me I haven’t come across someone like Pijushda who could appreciate newcomers so candidly. He used to treat me like his daughter. He took me to Music World (nobody knew me then.) and told the authorities to promote my cd as they did his ones. One fine morning he called me up at my office and told me to sing at Uttam Manch instead of him, as he had a sore throat. But when he was introducing me, I understood that his voice was perfectly okay. So this was Pijushda. His untimely demise was a huge loss for the Rabindrasangeet circle as after my mother and her contemporaries, no one would love listening to Tagore Songs. There was a vacuum—–it was he who came , saw and conquered the present generation listeners and was instrumental in spreading Tagore’s music among the masses. We are only carrying forward the strain created by him. Now throughout the year, soirees of Rabindrasangeet are held everywhere , it feels great , and Pijushda has the lion’s share of contribution towards it.I really miss him.

Gaanmela Q9.Rupudi, Rituparno Ghosh’s ‘Utsab’ was a landmark in your career. How did you get the scope?

Srabani Sen: Debuda (Debajyoti Mishra) called me up one afternoon and asked me to meet him the day after as they wanted me to do a playback for a film directed by Rituda (Rituparno was athen, Unishey April ). Frankly speaking I didn’t like the song (Amala Dhabala Paley Legechey) But Rituda and Debuda encouraged me immensely and the song was recorded quite effortlessly. Arghya kaku was my trainer, and Rajivda was the recordist (people who have seen me grow). So,there was not much tension. Rituda came and after hearing me sing, left the studio. Anyways,that song proved to be a jerk in my hitherto struggling career. Thanks to Debuda and Rituda, Debuda have taught me the nuances of playback singing—–sometimes he shouts at me and sometimes he pampers me so much that anyone would love to give the best.

Gaanmela Q10.Rupudi,I have heard that Smt. Suchitra Mitra had written something after hearing ‘’Amala Dhabala’’.

Srabani Sen: (chuckles) That was a blessing for me; actually Vishwabharati Music Board had not given a no objection to the song as they felt that it was not sung with the accompaniment of a ‘khol’. It was then forwarded to Suchitradi and Debuda had asked her expert comments on whether the rendition had marred or violated any norms of the song. Suchitradi after listening to it had written ‘’ei gaan er thekey bhalo bhabey ei situation ey gaoa jetey parey boley amar money hoy na’’—and this was indeed a surprise gift for me.

Gaanmela Q11.It is very co-incidental that during the 60’s and 70’s aunty had sung Tagore numbers for most of the Bengali films and now you are carrying forward the legacy. How does it feel?

Srabani Sen: My didibhai has also sung in numerous films and given hits like ‘Bhalobashi, Bhalobashi in Shwet Pathorer Thala. Actually the break which I got in Utsav opened many doors for me, and offers started pouring in from ace directors like Gautam Ghosh, Anjan Das, Subrata Sen. I really enjoyed singing some songs like Tomar Shur Shunaye (Dekha), Tomar Amar O Ei (Saanjhbatir Rupkathara).Another person to whom I am indebted is Debjit, a very talented composer and arranger who hasbeen a fountain of inspiration in my musical career. He has made me sing in more than 150 songsfor serials, telefilms. Apart from this,he was the person who insisted that I do an album on Atulprasad’s songs.I had never learnt them,but he arranged the album so well that I loved singing the songs.

Gaanmela Q12.Srabanidi,you have an album of Bengali Modern Songs to your credit….

Srabani Sen: My God! don’t speak of it….it was a super flop (bursting into peals of laughter). I didn’t have plans to release it .But when Shubhajit of HMV heard the songs he was very keen on releasing it as an album,”Tomar Amar Thikana’’.All the songs were sung by male singers as my ‘herey gola’ woudn’t have done justice to songs sung by female singers.

Gaanmela Q13.Didi, I have one question——sorry to interrupt you. Speaking about this ‘husky voice’(here gola)as you say, tell me how come the voice you speak and the voice you sing in are so different?

Srabani Sen: (laughing) yeah! many people ask me this question—-but unfortunately I don’t have an answer.

Gaanmela Q14.Didi, there was a time when the style rather the so called ‘rabindrik’ mannerism was given precedence over the thematic content?How would you define this term? Veterans say that Tagore is not for the masses.what is your take on this?

Srabani Sen: There is nothing called ‘rabindrik’—yeah, students from some institutions had picked up a mannerism of suppressing their jaws and singing songs. But now I see that the boys and girls are singing full throated, without such mannerisms. Coming to the second part of your question, I personally feel Tagore is ‘Only For The Masses’ and I love to sing for the masses more than I do while performing at a soiree where the intelligentsia clad in shawls come and sit.I feel when I’m singing for the mass, I have a greater challenge before me because I am interacting with today’s generation who would be listening to say, Bhumi or a Hindi singer afterwards in the same programme. And by God’sgrace I can make Tagore reachable to them through my songs. They listen, and you won’t believe once at Nazrul Mancha I was supposed to be the first artiste followed by Anjan Dutta and Cactus. I instantly refused the proposal as I thought no one would listen to me at a place where Anjanda and Cactus would be performing.5000 students of Andrew’s College had gathered for the soiree. Believe me, I was taken aback when requests started pouring in from all the youngsters and I couldn’t leave the stage before 2 hours. Everyone in the auditorium had joined me for ‘Purano Shei Diner Kotha’. That was indeed a memorable experience.

Gaanmela Q15.You have been to so many countries for your performances. Where did you enjoy performing most?

Srabani Sen: America, Doha, Australia. Audience in the middle east were very accomplished and I had to sing many uncommon numbers on request.

Gaanmela Q16. What is your opinion about the present generation learners?

Srabani Sen: They are very sincere, meticulous and more sincere than me. More than 200 boys and girls come to me. Some of my students are really very promising. But talent alone cannot make wonders. If destiny clicks then only you can be successful, this is what I believe.

Gaanmela Q17.What are your forthcoming projects?

Srabani Sen: This Pochishey Boishakh two of my albums are slated for release—-Pathik Paran and another one on seasonal songs of Tagore.`Bhumi’, the popular band have chosen me to train them up for their debut album of Rabindrasanget. This is a great achievement on my part, as they are so good souls apart from being fantastic singers.

Gaanmela Q18. You don’t have any qualms as a singer of Rabindrasangeet—you can be at ease with singers of any genre

Srabani Sen: Yes,this is a fact.Singers from all spheres love me,respect me,and I guess this is what I want.At the end of the day people would say,`Srabani Sen was a good human being’—that’s it.

Srabani Sen : My favourites

1. Colour: Off White
2. Place: Goa
3. Hobbies: Eating
4. Composers: Madan Mohan,Sudhin Dasgupta,R.D.Burman,Joy Sarkar
5. Singers: Manna Dey,Suman Kalyanpur,Mukesh,Mohd.Rafi,Hariharan, Jagjit Singh,Sonu Nigaam
6. Movies: Abhiman
7. Actors: Amitabh Bachchan,Jaya Bhaduri
8. Author: Suchitra Bhattacharya
9. Outfit: Jeans and Punjabi
10. Persons: My mother, my childhood friend,Mili

Rapid Fire with Srabani Sen
1. Bichitro/Prakriti - Prakriti
2. Debabrata/Hemanta – Debabrata
3.Satyajit Ray/Tapan Sinha – Tapan Sinha
4.Jokhon Eshechiley/Amala Dhabala – Jakhan Eshechiley
5. Rabindrasadan/Kalamandir – Rabindrasadan
6. Lata Mangeshkar/Asha Bhonsle – Asha Bhonsle
7. Recording/Live – live
8. Discipline/Bohemianism tinged with it – second one
9.Crowd/Solitude – solitude
10. Badalshesher Pakhi/Bhitormahaler Byatha – Badalshesher Pakhi

The rendezvous came to an end with Srabanidi’s soulful rendition of Tobu Mone Rekho…….. and left us yearning for more……
Write up and interview by Gaanmela Journalist: Kaustav Goswami

Friends 91.9 FM Music Festival, a three day music carnival, got off to a colourful start on 27 th February at Nazrul Mancha .The students of Dakshinee, heralded spring with Orey bhai, phagun legechey ,’Akaash,amay bhorlo aloy’, Aji ei gondhobidhuro , however the choric rendition of an exquisitely private song like ‘Aj Jyotsnaraatey’ was incongruent and moreover the organization of songs by such a premier institute was diffused. Lopamudra Mitra took over the stage and created the ambiance with her splendid rendition of numbers like Aji Bijon Ghorey, Bhengey Mor Ghorer Chabi, and mesmerized the the audience with her soulful presentation of the all time favourite romantic song of  Tagore, Amaro Porano Jaha Chay. Joy Sarkar’s innovative orchestration lent a new dimension to the song. Srabani Sen, the heart-throb of Gen Y lovers of Rabindrasangeet, regaled with popular numbers like Aami Kaan Petey Roi, Daanriye Acho and Amar Mukti Aloy. Spring came alive with her velvety rendition of Jodi Taarey Naai Chini and Amar Mollikaboney. The treat came when the audience joined her in concord with Purano Shei Diner Kotha. Siddhartha Bhattacharya (tabla), Subrata Mukhnerji (keyboard) and Amal Sarkar (percussion) left no stone unturned to ornate the songs with their musical genius. Baul Bhajandas Bairagi and his troupe entertained the masses with their songs and dance interspersed with metaphysical conceit Pandit Ajoy Chakraborty set the tune of the evening with Behaag, Tagore’s favourite raga; the maestro didn’t have ample time to elaborate the raga on vilambit ektaal, so he quickly switched over to the drut bandish in jhaaptaal, followed by the locus classecus of Ustaad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Hari Om Tatsat. The first day’s programme was ably anchored by RJ Raja and RJ Rayn.

One of the most reputed institutes of Rabindrasangeet, which sticks to the traditional style of the genre practiced at Shantiniketan is moderated by the eminent singer, Smt.Pramita Mallick, a disciple of veterans like Kanika Bandyopadhyay, Shantidev Ghosh , Nilima Sen and Subinoy Roy. She has travelled abroad with her productions like ’The Child’, and is training many promising talents presently.

Chaturanga (2008)-music review

Suman Mukherjee’s  splendid celluloid adaptation of Tagore’s novel revolving around the conflict between the spiritual and the sensual has been enhanced by ace musician Debajyoti Mishra’s dexterity in interfusing different genres of music,conducive to the cinematic requirements. Debajyoti, an erstwhile  assistant to the legendary late Salil Choudhury , is a music director par excellence and has already won laurels for his scores in Rituparno Ghosh’s movies , worth mentioning amongst which are , Titli, Chokher Baali and Raincoat.

Apart from RabindraSangeet, Mishra has captured the mystic-romantic mood of the Shachis-Damini-Sreebilash relationship using traditional folk numbers like baul, sufi numbers, keertan, gajan and kheur.While songs of Rabindranath like Matir Buker Majhey(Kabir Suman), Amaar Praner Majhe and Aalo Je Aj Gaan Korey, rendered by Parama Banerjee in her dulcet voice,admirably depict Damini’s insatiable sensual thirst, keertans like Hari Haraya (Manomoy Bhattacharya), Rup Lagi Ankhi Jhurey, (rendered brilliantly by  Raghav Chatterjee) and Bhaja Patita Udhharana (sung soulfully by debutante Arijit Chakraborty) create the perfect spiritual ambience. Mishra has exploited Shaukat Amanat Ali’s enviable vocal prowess in the sufi numbers, Allah key Nur and Maula Tere Bina.Use of original instruments like harmonium, mridanga, esraj instead of the synthetic effects have made the audio CD a connoisseurs’s delight.The theme music, (specially the restrained  use of percussions) leaves the listener yearning for more.

Reviewed by: Kaustav Goswami
For review of the movie, please visit: Chaturanga Movie Review

Song Title	Artist
1. Allah Ke Nur	Shafqat Amaanat Ali & Chorus
2. Din Thakte Tiner Sadhan	Kartick Das Baul
3. Bhajo Patito Udhadharana	Arijit Chakraborty & Chorus
4. Hara Gauri Prananath	Dohar
5. Esraj	Instrumental
6. Hari Haraye Nama	Monomoy Chakraborty & Chorus
7. Jagohu Brishobhanu	Sri Bani Kumar Chatterjee & Chorus
8. Hese Khele Nao Re Jogu	Neel Mukherjee & Chorus
9. Rupo Lagi Aankhi Jhure	Raghab Chatterjee
10. Joy Radhe Radhe	Arijit Chakraborty & Chorus
11. Moula Tere Bina	Shafqat Amaanat Ali & Chorus
12. Nirodo Nayane	Santa Das
13. Background Music	Instrumental
14. Praner Majhe Sudha (Hum)	Parama Banerjee
15. Radha Madhabo	Kabir Suman & Chorus
16. Aalo Je Amar Gaan Kore	Parama Banerjee

Phirey Chai Megh – Indrani Sen

Indrani Sen has been reigning for over three decades in the Bengali Music circuit, and has ably exploited  her versatility in all genres of music. Phirey Chai Megh (sagarika), her latest offering of eight contemporary Bengali songs, based on the monsoon theme, is a euphonic treat for connoisseurs of contemporary Bengali music. Promising composers like Debashish Ganguly, Tapan Sinha, Soumya Basu have set tunes for these melodious numbers, lyricised by, Amitabha Bhattacharya, Arijit Bhattacharya and Rajiv Dutta. The bageshree based Jaa Jaa Rey has echoes of a qawwali while Pahariya Moyna is a lovely lilting melody; apart from her intricate classical harkats, Indrani captures the western nuances  in Buker Bhetortyay and the title track , which has a cosmic appeal in its rendition and the worth praising music arrangement by Debashish Ganguly. The students of Disha have lent their voice to the best of their  abilities in some of the songs.

Album Review by: Kaustav Goswami