Kolkata :
The biggest names in Bengali music, both urban and rural, will come together to pay tribute to Gautam Chatterjee, the founder of ‘Mohiner Ghoraguli’ who is credited with popularizing folk music in the city and pioneering rock music in Bengal, on his 15th death anniversary on Friday. It’s a grand opportunity for music lovers to catch veterans Debdas Baul, Bishwanath Baul, Mansur Fakir and many more along with the legend’s son Gaurab Chatterjee, Rupam Islam of ‘Fossils’, Sidhu of ‘Cactus’, Silajit and other youth icons sharing the stage, making music and reminiscing about an era gone by.
The tribute event at Rabindra Sadan, that will feature veteran ‘Mohiner Ghoraguli’ members and associated artists along with those inspired by the music innovator, will have several special moments. Abraham Mazumdar will again perform at the venue with the same Stradivarius violin he used with Mohin on stage as well as in recordings. Lopamudra Mitra said: “I’m planning to sing what I believe is Monida’s last piece of work. It was the title track of a TV serial, ‘Poush Shraboner Pala’, which was sung by me.”
True to Gautam’s legacy of bringing West and East together on the same page, the wide range of musicians invited to perform or as guests will also embrace the two worlds in an organic blend. So you have music director Debajyoti Mishra, Parama, Surajit of ‘Bhoomi’, Kalika Prasad of ‘Dohar’ along with Somlata, folk music pair Malabika-Sanjay, Mohin contemporary Ranjan Prasad as well as original members Pradip Chatterjee and Tapas ‘Bapi’ Das. Artist Hiran Mitra, celebrated for his Mohin-related illustrations will also share his memories of Gautam.
“Monida, along with poet Dipak Majumdar, set the stage for baul-fakiri musicians to step on the global platform. He brought artists like Gour Khyapa and Paban Das Baul to Kolkata and gave them the opportunity to sing for his films. This get-together is to celebrate his foresight and spirit,” said Deb Chowdhury of Sahajiya Foundation, the organizer.
Rupam told TOI: “I was very fortunate that I had the honour of knowing him. He appreciated my music and had even called me the ‘blue-eyed boy of Bangla rock’, after him, of course. I’m immensely grateful to him for that comment. His encouragement always gave me a boost. I’ve shared the stage and jammed with him, and going to the book fair and singing was a tradition of ours. At the tribute event, I will reminisce about my history with Monida.” Sidhu recounted: “What drew me most to Gautamda was the way he enjoyed music – the passion for music that took him beyond technicalities. I was very young, but these elements were drilled into my consciousness. Later on, the lyrics of ‘Mohiner Ghoraguli’ songs set a benchmark, which was a driving force for young musicians like us.”
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Kolkata / by Shounak Ghosal, TNN / June 19th, 2014