Crooning melodies

The fifty-year-old Bengalee Association kick-started its grand Durga Puja celebrations this year with a rocking musical performance by the popular singer Nachiketa Chakraborty. He had come down from Kolkata especially for the evening with his five-member troupe.

“Nachiketa is a very well-known Bengali singer-songwriter and composer who is known for his modern Bengali lyrics and vibrant singing style. He became famous in the early nineties, with the release of his debut album Ei Besh Bhalo Achhi. Since he is loved by all ages, we felt that it would be wonderful to have him come to Bangalore to start the cultural programmes that we have everyday as part of our Durga Puja celebrations,” says Runa Roy, Cultural Secretary of the Association.

The packed venue at the RBANMS Grounds was abuzz with people participating in the Puja, enjoying the cultural activities and the food stalls with families and friends.
The programme itself began with a group from the association singing a prayer song by Rabindranath Tagore. This was followed by the association theme song written especially for the golden jubilee celebrations by the President A L Roy. Nachiketa Charaborty then took to the stage and kept the crowd engrossed and entertained right through the two hour performance.

Some of his well-known popular songs that were sung in the course of the performance included: Sapno, Sapno, Sapno (a song about sustaining one’s life through dreams). Neelanjana (a love ballad sung to a beautiful blue-eyed girl) and Bridhashram (a poignant tale about an old women who is shunted off to a retirement home by a son who will one day probably meet with the same fate at the hands of his children).

Nachiketa also sang a beautiful poem by Rabindranath Tagore  — Lavanye Prana Prane Isho and a song from his new album Yatra.

The performance ended on a high note with the gathering having got its fill of great entertainment on the very first day of the celebrations.