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Bands From Bengal
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If one talks of the very first attempt at making a kind of music different from the music of the Bengali film industry and the first attempt at forming a music band, one has to acknowledge Moheener Ghoraguli (which means, Moheen’s horses). In the early 1970’s, front man, the late Gautam Chattopadhyay started writing songs of a new and fresh variety – songs that were new to the world of Bengali music. These songs were personal – radical, angsty, and yet endearing and loving. He started mobilizing musicians from the city and soon lined up his ‘horses’. Shudhijon Shono Haay, Bhalobashi, Kolkata Kolkata among several others were some of their initial songs. Unfortunately, the horses were far ahead of their times as was proved by the utter lack of response for the first several years of the band’s career. It wasn’t until the 1990s that Bengal woke up to the talent that was staring them in the face for nearly two decades now. Their songs started being categorized into what had by then become the genre of jibonmukhi songs (songs about life). By this time singer-song writers like Nahciketa and Kabir Suman were beginning to become popular. Their appeal lay in the directness and honesty of their songs and freshness of sound. In light of these changes, Moheen struck again, with a compilation of songs covered by contemporary artists - Abaar Bochor Kuri Pore in 1995. This time they struck gold. What had been rejected twenty years ago was received with enthusiasm and a crazy fan following. It is difficult to categorize Moheener Ghoraguli under one particular genre. Their music shows the influence of western Dylan-esque rock as well as the folk music of Bauls and Fakirs. In retrospect, they were more of a movement than a band. More of a line up of great musicians coming together for a common cause than a stage show…Bengali music would indeed never remain the same. If Dylan led the urban folk movement in the United States, Moheener Ghoraguli were trying to do the same thing in Bengal, only success came much later. The seeds sown by Moheen resulted in a good period of original rock and folk music coming out of Bengal. Apart from the aforementioned Nachiketa and Kabir Suman, one had the likes of Anjan Dutt becoming unbeatable favorites with numbers like ‘bela bose’ and ‘ranjana’. In fact it is with great interest one realizes and acknowledges that Indian rock happened to Bengal long before in any other part of the country. Individual singers made way on the stage for a number of bands which followed in rapid succession. Skinny Alley came together in the late 1990’s, and was perhaps the first organized original English music band in the country. The badn members, Gyan Singh, Amyt Dutt Jayashree Singh and Jeffrey Rikh, had already been making music for nearly two decades. They sued their rich experience and intense knowledge to put together a unique blend of rock, punk, jazz and reggae. Skinny Alley plays regular gigs and shows to the given day, within and without the country. In fact it has even given birth to a band – Pink Noise, which has pretty much the same line up, except for the drummer being replaced by young talent Jivraj Singh (son of Gyan and Jayashree Singh). Bhoomi came into the limelight by the end of the 1990’s, a band making an honest attempt to popularize folk music among the urban masses. Surajit Chatterjee and Soumitra Roy started off almost on an experimental basis. They were eager to juxtapose their knowledge and exposure of contemporary music with the mammoth store of Bengali folk. It was a difficult journey for the band from the college campus to the everyday man’s music player, but hits like ‘Baranday Roddur’ which every Bengali will remember to the given day with a smile on his/her face; eventually ensured success. With an impressive repertoire of nine albums between 2000 and 2008, Bhoomi has now somewhat relegated themselves to the background. The last few years have found them touring in foreign music festivals and tours more than ever before. Bhoomi’s music today appeals to young and old alike, and atypical of the personal song structures, they have touched hearts all over the world. This was a busy time for the music industry in Bengal. Cactus, Krosswindz, Fossils happened in and around the same time as Bhoomi. Though different, all these bands had a basic similarity in that they were trying to revive folk music. While Fossils’ frontman Rupam is pure rock and roll, tending even to heavy metal, Krosswindz has dabbled in blues and progressive fusion; Cactus maintained a pure rock structure – but they all had elements of folk thrown in here and there. Almost simultaneously, another section of bands had already started springing up in the city. These were consciously self proclaimed rock and roll bands. Hip Pocket forms the best example. Globalization of thought was just about beginning to hit the Indian youth in a big, big way. Musicians like Nondon Bagchi (drummer), bassist Lou Hilt, guitarist Amyt Dutta (of Skinny Alley fame) were resorting to expression through music to stand up for the morals they believed in, trying to hold a world which may have seemed to them to be crumbling down at the seams… This was the course of things till even a few years back. It is said that one always needs a cause to work for or toward. Moheen started it with a sound which nobody had ever heard while a Hip Pocket or a Nachiketa used their songs to deplore their environments. The music scene was smooth sailing in the state, but it was just that – smooth sailing. Since the ‘fight’ was over, nothing remarkable was coming out for a while, especially in the English music scene. As little as the last two years has witnessed a massive change in the music scene of Bengal. We have original bands that are eager to record their albums, and establish newer sounds. A need for newness never goes, and one can suppose that that is the new fight to be fought. That is the new cause. City based bands like Cassini’s Division, The Supersonics, Pink Noise, and Insomnia have done well in terms of original music. The Supersonics just finished recording for their first album, which is scheduled for release in a few months’ time. The urban audience now not only wants, but DEMANDS original music. Outside Kolkata, in the rest of Bengal a Rupam Islam is still the show stopper and ‘holud paakhi’ belted out in any campus anywhere outside Kolkata will still make people cry. Individuals like 28 year old Tajdar Junaid exemplify this thirst for newness and freshness to perfection. Says Taj, “Though I’ve played in different bands as a guitarist for many years now, I was finding this need to do something new. To use my contemporary exposure and inculcate it with the raw talent that exists anyway.” Taj has in the last six months set up his unique line up comprising Gulam Fakir, Basudeb Das Baul ,Sandip Samaddar (khomok) Satyaki Banerjee(do-tara). They call it Ruhaniyat and one can check up their good work on www.youtube.com/ruhaniyat and www.myspace.com/ruhaniyat. “I want to promote Baul and Fakir Music from Bengal and project it to an international audience”, says Taj hopefully. Almost reminiscent of Moheen, isn’t it? It may have all come full circle. Ruhaniyat has already made its first step toward this ambition having already composed some of the original soundtrack for Australian feature film ‘The Waiting City’, to be released later this year. One can suppose it is a good time for music in Bengal. Perhaps not like the 90’s (which were the 60’s of Bengal in a strange way), but we are standing on a lot of available machinery anyway. One has to now build on what he/she has and constantly think and innovate. The newest and latest step in this respect has been Anjan Dutt’s latest feature film –the first Bangla Rock musical ever - ‘Madly Bengalee’ which has run for less than a week now to full houses. The film stands as a tribute to the last 30 years of musical history of Bengal, the associated passion, love and madness. Before the film starts a line written by Gautam Chattopadhyay of Moheen flashes on the screen: Koto ki koraar aache baki (There is still so much left to do).
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