Celebrating the universal language of music

On a sultry Friday evening, a huge crowd came flocking to a city cafe to witness a celebration of music with some of the best singers and instrumentalists from the music fraternity. Among the singers were Iman Chakraborty, Shovon Ganguly, Durnibar Saha, Murshidabadi, Porshia and many others who have made their mark in the music industry. Iman and Durnibar moved us with their soulful rendition of a Rabindrasangeet.

When asked about the event, Iman said, “The show was Shovon’s brainchild and an initiative that he had taken, we just supported him. I was thrilled by the participation and how people gathered to support good music. We had to ask people to leave because the space wasn’t enough.” Shovon, who floored us with his soothing guitar tunes, added, “I wanted to organise a show where the young musicians could come together. We just formed a group and shared the post on social media, the response was unexpected. It has encouraged us to organise more such events in future.”

Murshidabadi, one of the few Sufi singers in town, kept the audience glued to their seats with his performance, he added, “I have a different taste in music, my kind of music is definitely not mainstream. However, it didn’t seem so; everyone enjoyed the evening with various kinds of music to the fullest.” Tirtho made us groove to his rustic dotara melodies, while Porshia enthralled everyone with her beautiful rendition of an American folk song. “We opted for fusion and the amount of appreciation we got was beyond expectation. It was indeed a celebration of world music.”

From Pakistani music to ragas, contemporary Bangla music to American folk songs, the listeners were not only taken on a journey to the various parts of India, but also got a flavour of music from different parts of the world. An ardent music lover, Rhea Dawn was seen having a good time. She said, “I enjoyed the evening a lot. I am looking forward to more such events in future. They are a bunch of amazingly talented musicians.”