Bratya Basu encourages classical music fest in north Kolkata

The culture enthusiast that he is, Bratya Basu is always known for initiating various such programmes for the people of Kolkata. His contribution to Bengali theatre, especially in making the audience turn back to stage has been much appreciated. Keeping the passion alive for all things with a cultural connotation, Bratya has yet again encouraged a north Kolkata group Dumdum Pratyay Welfare Society for organising a classical music festival called Dumdum Margsangeet Utsav.“We have been arranging this for quite some time now and we will continue to do so. The ministry has a responsibility to induce and support pop culture in society. But there is also a responsibility to propagate a counter culture. We are also committed towards that. Besides, it’s a common feeling that there is not much interest left in traditional music or ways of life. We want to encourage the fact that people still do have a soft spot for classical music,” Bratya said.
The two-day music festival, which started on August 24, will witness stalwarts of the Indian classical music perform. Day 1 saw Pt Kumar Bose on tabla, Niladri Kumar on sitar, danseuse Mallika Sarabhaia and danseuse Revantha Sarabhai. On Day 2, audiences will experience the sheer joy of listening to Pt Viswamohan Bhatt on mohanbina, Pt Subhen Chatterjee on tabla, Vidhusi Kaushiki Chakraborty sing and Ustad Amjad Ali Khan on sarod. “This is our third consecutive year of organising the programme. We had done it for the first time years before. It’s because of Bratya Basu that we could start all over again. We get calls from all over Bengal asking for tickets. But the best part was when a couple of days ago, I received a call from Florida. Ustad Amjad Ali Khan’s ardent follower had called to query about the show. He expressed his interest to come and watch him play the sarod. That’s a huge achievement for us. Besides, I noticed a few foreigners among the audience,” shared Raju Sen Sharma, convenor of the programme.