Borders melt as government honours legends

KOLKATA: Sandhya Mukhopadhyay, Arati Mukherjee, Dwijen Mukhopadhyay, Nirmala Mishra, Rashid Khan, Firoza Begum, Amar Pal… The list itself leaves a reader in awe, think what happened when all these stalwarts assembled on the stage at Bangla Sangeet Mela. To put it simply, music lovers present at Netaji Indoor Stadium on Thursday lived their dreams and took home a memory that they will cherish for years to come.
Chief minister Mamata Banerjee conceived the event to honour the vocal legends, and it was indeed a successful one. Two awards — Mahasangeet Samman and Sangeet Samman — were instituted and awarded to a host of great voices.
As the inimitable voice of Sandhya Mukhopadhyay sang, “Ki mishit, dekho mishit, ki mishti e shokal,” from the hit film Nayika Sambad, the audience was in raptures.Nazrulgeeti legend Firoza Begum made it to the programme from Bangladesh, ignoring her age and ailments.
Among those who received the Mahasangeet Samman were Girija Devi, Dwijen Mukhopadhyay, Amar Pal, Subir Sen, Sumitra Sen and Ajoy Chakraborty, apart from Sandhya Mukhopadhyay and Firoza Begum. Among those who received the Sangeet Samman were Arati mukherjee, Rashid khan, Nirmala Misra and Banasri Sengupta.
Like old friends, these greats cracked jokes on stage, hugged each other, laughed, cried and performed. It appeared like it was one big reunion. The chief minister tirelessly moved from one guest to other, making each one feel at home.
“Kolkata has always been the cultural capital of India and I will do everything in my power to uphold that suzerainty,” said a determined Mamata. “The legends on stage remind each one of us of our lost childhood, of romantic nostalgia waiting eagerly for Onurodher Ashor on radio,” she added.
Congratulating Kumar Subba, a Nepali performer, Mamata said that Bengal is lucky to have such beautiful hills as its part. “The hills have come to the stadium (read plains),” she said.