An evening of Bangla music
Five miles of cables, forty vocalists and instrumentalists under eighteen, and a total of at least one hundred musicians, more than two centuries of music from the erstwhile Bengal province and today’s West Bengal and Bangladesh, detailed planning and precise execution focused on safety first and quality performance – this is the Bay Area Bengali Music (BABM) Fest – an evening celebrating a wide range of Bangla music,
In its seventh year but sixth iteration, having lost one year during the pandemic, the BABM Fest has one goal: propagate Bengali music in all its multi-genre, multi-era, and multi-artist glory. Sandip Bhattacharya and Bipasha Sinha, the founders and creative/executive directors of the Fest, showcase a very wide range of Bangla music, including what is not popularly known or familiar to even a lot of Bengalis but that fundamentally defines the core identity of Bengali music. For example, the music of Himangshu Dutta, Shubinoy Roy, Pintu Bhattacharya, is not as well-known as that of Hemanta Mukherjee, Manna Dey, Shyamal Mitra, or Salil Choudhury. “Inclusivity” of various kinds of Bengali music is key.
Music and social movements
Secondly, music, like all art forms, must carry social responsibility. Sandip and Bipasha talk about the role of music, the ideas embedded in the lyrics of selected compositions, and the social movements that informed their composition. All participants, especially the kids, learn a lot about the greater role of music in society. Learning about the history, the socio-political messages behind the songs, is the main purpose of the BABM Fest. That is also how the fest is different from the music performances that feature in other cultural events during Durga Puja, Bangladeshi events, and Tagore-focused celebrations.
There are no auditions for participants. BABM Fest welcomes anyone who knows the fundamentals. A participant’s level of training, quality of singing or playing instruments do not pose a barrier – the founders foster an atmosphere of camaraderie and collaboration. 12-13 weeks of dedicated practice shows remarkable growth in both amateur and seasoned musicians, says Bhattacharya. “How and why should we judge musicians?” O.P. Nayyar never worked with Lata Mangeshkar because he found her voice too shrill, he offers.
Non-Bengalis are welcomed as participants. Lyrics to the songs are written in English, coordinators for the children’s section and regular rehearsals are at hand to help. BABM Fest’s doors are always open to anyone who sings or plays an instrument and wants to participate.
Fluid musical genres
The musical genres featured in the festival are not narrowly defined, representing the fluidity created when categories merge to create compositions, says Bhattacharya, . Salil Choudhury’s music for example, combines significant Western influences with very Indian sounds; “De dol dol” combines Koli (Konkan fishermen rythms) with Bangla sound and Irish notes, while some of Tagore’s music includes Irish influences and Carnatic elements.
The Festival will feature several segments:
A children’s section with age-appropriate, complex songs that include a learning curve.
A Traditional segment showcasing signature Bangla music that includes the music of Rajanikanta Sen, Ramprasad, Atulprasad, Nazrul and Tagore.
A Semi-Classical section celebrating composers such as Ramkumar Chattopadhyay, Nazrul, Ajoy Chakraborty, and Gyan Kuman Ghosh, who have created a substantial body of work based on Hindustani and Carnatic music with Bangla folk elements, such as Baul and lokgeeti.
A Bengali Adhunik (Modern) category that represents commercially successful musical stylings, often used in films, and that include folk elements that comment on the urbanization of folk music and identities. This segment includes songs by Himangshu Dutta, Abhijit Bandopadhyay, Shudhin Dasgupta, SD Burman and RD Burman.
An Indie (independent) music segment highlighting independently-produced, experimental music that’s not attached to any label. This will include, for example, bands and musicians who experiment to create alternate/divergent types of music, including improvisations of classic compositions, such as a hard-metal version of “Chol chol urdho gogone baaje madol” (Nazrul’s famous song about freedom).
A medley of instruments
The musicians will utilize a variety of instruments, including typical Bangla percussion instruments such as the “khol” and “dhol,” as well as snare drums or a djembe, guitar, keyboard, bansuri, tabla, upright bass, cello, sarod, sitar, santoor, kalimba, and harmonium. If a traditional “dotara” is not available, a close substitute will be found.
The BABM Fest presents Bangla music like the melting point it has been for decades: Nazrul Islam was influenced by Turkish music, Salil Choudhury by the Irish fiddle, Kabir Suman by Pete Seeger and Joan Baez, while Tappa from Punjab, Koli music, and Carnatic music have also informed Bengali music.
Castro Valley Center for the Arts
April 20 (Sunday) at 2:00 PM.
Tickets available on Zelle: Info@babmuzfest.org
https://www.facebook.com/BABMuzFest