Why did Gokul Chandra break patriarchy and train women?

With Durga Puja imminent, and the music of the dhaak beginning to play in our hearts, most of us think that this is the only time of year when we get to hear these incredibly evocative beats. But is it really? Is the dhaak finally ready to come out of its niche?

But how did Gokul Chandra get the idea of training women? He was once attending a concert with Ustad Zakir Hussain in Los Angeles where he came across a lady musician demonstrating saxophone, clarinet, brass, trumpets to customers by playing them all by herself. If a lady in US can do so to earn why not our girls back in Bengal? That’s when the idea struck, to have an all-women dhaaki team from Bengal. He started with women from his own family and village. 

But it was not that easy for Gokul in those early days to make the girls play dhak in public. It was rather an uphill challenge to fight the social taboos and traditions prevailing in a small village of Maslandapur in North 24 Parganas. However today his all women dhaaki brigade has earned immense respect and reputation in the musical world and are seen in the Pujo circuit, performing regularly on popular TV shows, corporate events etc. Both his daughter and daughter-in law Uma and Sangeeta are also dhak players.

Image : Facebook GOKUL Chandra DHAKI