By C.M. Paul
Kolkata: The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) and Church Art Kolkata organized a musical soiree, to promote culture and social harmony.
The September 25program showcased a classical Indian slide guitar artist Bhaskar Mukhopadhyay and a medley of folk songs of Bengal rendered by Bandel Loke Samsad Group – a female musical troupe from Hooghly district’s rural town Bandel.
The program consisting of songs pertaining to Hindu, Muslim, Christian, and Jain religious beliefs were sung by the ladies group of Bandel as one of the said, “to bring love and peace among all communities.”
“Our aim is to bring together people of every walk of life and give them a platform for self expression through culture and music, so that they can experience social harmony as human beings,” says Church Art founder-CEO Subrata Ganguly.
Kolkata High Court Advocate Tapash Gan Chowdhury, guest-of-hon our, opened the event in the presence of Gautam Dey, director, ICCR Kolkata, and social activist and West Bengal Minority Commission secretary Esteshamul Haque.
Among other dignitaries present were Joint Commissioner of Income Tax Sudipta Guha and Prompt Agarwal from Oriplast group.
“It is a privilege to have such talented artistes perform at ICCR Kolkata. It is our endeavor to promote Indian art, music and culture. Classical and folk music is a very powerful medium of expression,” Gautam Dey said.
“West Bengal abounds in talented artistes and Bhaskar and the Bandel Loke Samsad Group epitomize such local talents,” said Ganguly, founder-director of Church Art, an organization promoting fine arts and culture.
Well known exponent of classical Indian slide guitar Bhaskar Prasad Mukhopadhyay started the function accompanied by tabla expert Biplab Bhattacharya.
Mukhopadhyay was initiated into music by his uncle Achintya Mukherjee and received his initial talim was under Pandit Debashis Bhattacharjee of Patiala Gharana. Afterwards, he received a short talim under Dilip Dutta of Shyamchurasi Gharana. Currently, he has been under the tutelage of Suroranjan, eminent sarod maestro of Benares-Lucknow Gharanas.
Mukhopadhyay is an ‘A Grade’ artiste in Indian classical music as well as in Indian Light Music in All India Radio, Kolkata. Bhaskar’s style imbibes elements of the different gharanas of his gurus and he also add to it his own individual style. He has performed extensively in India.
“There is music in every heart. But only through intense practice (riyaz) can one become an exponent of shastriya sangeet which is intrinsically linked to spiritualism. Through music one can realize deep spiritual meaning and awareness,” said Bhaskar Prasad Mukhopadhyay on the sidelines of the event.
“The purity of folk songs make it stand out from other genres and creates a unique identity of its own. We have observed with keen interest the lifestyles of people of Bengal, especially the rural areas, and successfully composed folk songs that reflect the mood of our times,” said a member of Bandel Loke Samsad Group.