Benjamin Franklin once said: ‘Out of adversity comes opportunity.’ Likewise, the recent pandemic has opened new avenues as the world quickly adapted to online mode. And now music lessons go online with village Kirtaniyas imparting khol lessons to students abroad. Yes, Bengal’s khol goes to
When it comes to authorship, folk songs can be hard to pin down. Many of our most popular folk songs have been around for what could be centuries, with their original creators remaining forever unknown. Such as the song ‘Bare bare ar asa hobe na
Tujhse naraaz nahin Zindagi… that heartwarming music of yesteryears floating through some non-descript local para of Kolkata. From the strings of a violin, played by an old man in semi-tattered boots. Not a Beethoven’s symphony, nor a Van Gogh painting… he is Bhagaban Mali, the
"It's easy to play any musical instrument: all you have to do is touch the right key at the right time and the instrument will play itself….” That’s what renowned German composer and musician Johann Sebastian Bach had once said. True to what Bach said,
OWhen was India’s National Anthem first sung in British India? Rabindranath Tagore’s poem/song “Jana Gana Mana Adhinayaka” was sung publicly at the 26th annual national convention of Indian National Congress, held in Calcutta between December 26 and 28, 1911. The song became mired in controversy
On May 10, 1902, The Gramophone and Typewriter Limited, Germany, established their office at 8/02 Dalhousie Square, Calcutta. Their recording engineer, William Fredrick Gaisberg sailed for India and arrived in October, 1902 with the newly found technology of sound recording and reproduction. Little did he
The word ‘kirtan’ may conjure up different kinds of music for people from different parts of India. For most Bengalis, a kirtan is inextricably linked to the Vaishnava tradition as propagated by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. However, musically speaking, most people probably wouldn’t link a kirtan to
<pRabishankar r Ali Akbar shune bhalo lage bhore kuashay ghore phirte</p One of the reasons why I liked the legendary song from Mohiner Ghoraguli was this last line. To me it was an intense imagery I could relate to, a reality which was a part of
Even if Gramophone is said to have been first patented in 1887 by Emile Berliner and mass-production of records started, it is interesting to note that within two years of Berliner’s discovery, ‘Koler Gaan’, as gramophone is known in Bengali, took a gigantic leap from
‘Music knows no boundaries’ and what could be more apt when describing playback singer, musician and composer Robin Ghosh who still commands a huge fan base in both Pakistan and Bangladesh and people still commemorate his death anniversary in both the countries. Ghosh is regarded