Category Archives: Music

Borisho Dhora Majhe – A Musical Call for Peace

I was always fascinated and amazed by Rabindranath Tagore. His stories, short stories, and his poetries were not just creations of a genius, they were creations of a person who was way ahead of his times. Or it can also be said that his writings, which he wrote at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century are meant for eternity. Sometimes I wonder how could he paint every emotion of a human being, every action of humanity with such ease, and could also foresee the glory and the despair of the future of mankind! Borisho Dhora Majhe Shantiro Bari is one such song, which though written in 1884 yet remains relevant in 2020. Such is the relevance of the wordings that they will resonate with us during these trying times.

Continue reading Borisho Dhora Majhe – A Musical Call for Peace

Classic Indipop Songs and Videos which Stood Apart -II

Classic 90s Indipop II
Classic 90s Indipop II

To begin with, it was a great experience writing about a few classic Indipop songs and their videos which were, according to me different, if not better from the rest. It is an extremely difficult task to jot down just a few songs amongst the plethora of mind-blowing Indipop songs of the 90s. If given an option, I could carry on creating lists of 90s Indipop songs which for me with all their all-encompassing beauty will retain their charm even decades from now!

Continue reading Classic Indipop Songs and Videos which Stood Apart -II

Classic Indipop Songs and Videos Which Stood Apart -I

Classic 90s Indipop

This is my second post for My Friend Alexa 2020 campaign. I started with the campaign with a clean slate sans any specific theme. However, as I started ideating for my posts, I felt NOSTALGIA should have been my theme, as I love reliving my teenage and early adulthood days which shaped me as the person I am today! The last decade of the last century and the first few years of the 21st century witnessed the flourishing Indipop industry in the Indian music industry.

Continue reading Classic Indipop Songs and Videos Which Stood Apart -I

Bengalis in Bollywood

Bengalis have always been proud of their tradition, culture and intellect. It is true that there is no dearth of talent in Bengal. But people in Bengal also possess the tendency to over indulge in the feel good factor and in the process become cocooned in their shells. From the time I started understanding concepts like intellect and culture, I found that Bengalis are of the opinion that people in other parts of India are not able to judge them without bias, though every other talent comes out from the soil of Bengal or are Bengalis settled in other states.

Be it in literature, art, music, direction, we can go on citing examples of gems which Bengal has produced. From Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore to  freedom fighter Subhash Chandra Bose to the Oscar winning Satyajit Ray, the list is endless.  Though they were renowned all across the globe, yet for some reason or the other, their talent was never given its due worth in India. Just like any other Bengali, as I started to grow up, the idea that Bengalis are not properly recognized in India started creeping in my mind. With so many years of nurturing, the idea has become an integral part of me now.

However, in recent times, I feel the trend has changed a bit. For instance, if we take the case of Bollywood cinema and music, we can see that from the beginning itself, the Bengalis have carved a niche for themselves. We have had movie directors like Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Basu Chatterjee creating masterpieces like Golmaal, Chupke Chupke, Anand, Abhimaan, Rajnigandha, Khoobsuraat, Ek Ruka Hua Faisla and many more. We still have a bunch of talented directors like Pradeep Sarkar, Anurag Basu and Shoojit Sircar making movies worth watching. The Bollywood music scene has been blessed by names like Salil Chowdhury, Hemant Kumar, Manna Dey, Kumar Sanu, Pankaj Mullick, Bappi Lahiri, Shreya Ghosal notwithstanding geniuses like S.D.Burman, R.D.Burman and Kishore Kumar, who boast of the Bengali lineage. The most prominent addition to this list, according to me is Bonnie Chakraborty.

Continue reading Bengalis in Bollywood

Splitsvilla2 Theme Music

I know a lot of peple will be quite surprized to see me writing about something like Splitsvilla2 or anything related to it. It is true that it’s not worth wasting time, writing about something as superficial as a reality television show like Splitsvilla. However, I coouldn’t stop myself from writing about the Theme Music of Splitsvilla2, set to tune by the popular Indian band Agnee.

The very first time I heard the track, I was bowled over by the mesmerizing tune.  Neither it is a song, nor is it absolutely instrumental. The music has a particular tone set in tune. I am sure, whosoever listens to the music will find it extremely haunting. The tune is simple yet touching. The music, in totality, is able to convey a lot of feelings which makes it all the more amazing.  Love, hope, happiness – everything is put across in a very subtle manner. As you listen to the music, you tend to experience certain feelings going through your heart and mind, which are difficult to write in words.

People may be thinking I am crazy as I can write a complete post about the theme music of a tele series, but as I told you, in the very beginning, I am not able to stop myself. I am an ardent music lover. I love good music of all kinds, though I prefer not to listen to the really Hard Rocks. Before this music, I have listened to a couple of songs of Agnee like Sadho Re and Kabira and must say all of them were superb. I loved Sadho Re, especially, as it had all the ingredients of a good song – enchanting tune, superb lyrics and fine voice.  Now, after listening to the Splitsvilla2 theme music, I have become an even more bigger fan of Agnee.  It always feels good when you know that there still exists certain bands which are not trash, who really love music and work hard for offering a good prooduct to the listeners. So, if you want to listen to a music which will definitely touch your heart and take you on a trip, then make sure you listen to the Splitsvilla 2 theme music. For enjoying some more songs of Agnee, you can click here.

Rock Culture and Bengali Rock Bands

MUSIC… Music has always been my love and passion. Right from my childhood days, music has always been an integral part of me. Today, here, I take the opportunity to share my passion for Bengali Band Music with all of you. Bengal is a land of rich literary resource, numerous musical legends and a huge and very active middle class society. The land boasts of a plethora of talents in the cultural sphere including Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore. The genre of music which was almost absent from the scenario was Rock music. Bengali music first encountered a wave of modernization in the 1970’s. With Mohiner Ghoraguli and their new and experimental genre of music, the new generation of youngsters were encouraged to express their myriad emotions like nostalgia, aggression, pain and anguish more zealously in a common channel. This new trend in the musical sphere at that time did not find many takers. But the credit for the emergence of 500 plus Bangla Rock bands today will definitely be put to Mohiner Ghoraguli. Their alternative form of music was not able to grab the crowd during the 70’s , but they became the visionary for the upcoming bands and gave birth to rock culture in the land.

Today, most popular bands enjoy an advantageous position where their albums sell like hot cakes the moment they hit stores. Band performances are the ‘in-thing’ and draw huge crowds mostly comprising of young school and college students, notwithstanding the age defying music loving uncles and aunties. Bangla music is for everybody. Though there is a surge of very hard rock bands in the recent times, yet most Bangla bands make sure they retain the distinct Bengali flavor in their music in spite of the heavy guitars and drums. It is this blend of western instruments with indigenous lyrics and tunes that imparts Bangla music it’s distinctive charm. Kolkata proudly offers platforms like Nazrul Manch, Someplace Else to cater to the tastes of the hyper active and enthusiastic audience for English and Bengali rock music and also help the bands to showcase their creativity. Pioneering Bands like Chandrabindoo, Cactus, Bhoomi, Fossils,ParashPathor have carved a niche’ for themselves in the Bangla music scenario with their own distinctive style of music and performances. Bangla band music has become the lifeblood for the average Bengali youngsters. One can relate to the music as most of these popular songs portray the life of an average Bengali and his sentiments, his dreams and ambitions, his heartaches and infatuations, his joy and nostalgia, life and death. Various aspects of the society including it’s flaws are also offered to the people in lyrical form. Large segment of Bengalis are immensely inspired by this form of music and are even ready to quit promising careers to the call of their passion. They want to do something exclusive and more meaningful and be an inspiration for the future generations. For that they are ready to defy every impediment coming their way, be it tradition, critics or even cultural limitations.

Music is a medium that transgresses all limits and goes beyond all boundaries. Bengali music was always rich with Rabindra Sangeet, Nazrul Geeti, songs by Atul Prasad Sen and also Adhunik or modern bengali songs. People dared to think beyond them and experiment with the other genres of music. The bengali bands broke the shackles and gave the audience the taste of rock music. Though most of the bands are influenced by western bands like Pink Floyd, The Doors and musicians like Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Simon and Garfunkel, yet they have succeeded in keeping the distinct bengali touch in their tunes as well as lyrics. Bengali rock bands have come a long way and with a bright future ahead they have the the scope to spread the music far and wide.

Continue reading Rock Culture and Bengali Rock Bands