Only 8-yr-old, and as good as a dhaki can be

HOWRAH: Aarati during sandhi pujo on Nabami: Funnels of smoke bellowing out of dhunuchis blanket the Bose bari of Shibpur. The air all around reverberates with the purohit’s chants. The Goddess’ devotees slowly and steadily slip into a trance, as the beat of the dhak becomes a crescendo. The dhakis play in unison. And keeping pace with everyman in the group of dhakis, is a eight-year-old boy, Sananda Bag.
He may be just a shade taller than half the width of the dhak, but his bols and baajs are as perfect as anybody’s else in his group.Sananda is the son of Haripada Bag, one of the dhakis who played at Bose bari pujo.
Haripada’s six-member group has been playing the dhak at the Bose Bari Durga Puja since five generations. It is not as if Sananda plays second fiddle in the group. He is extremely good with the dhak. But initially there was some hesitation to take him in. “We were reluctant to let him play because playing the dhak during aarati is strenuous. Sananda though insisted and we had to include him,� says his father.
The Bags have their own Kali thakur at their place at Birampur and since his birth, Sananda had been hearing his father play the dhak every evening. He thus picked up the art.