Blues For Bangalore - Deccan Herald

Deccan Herald, Thursday, March 24, 2005

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Blues for Bangalore Kolkata’s musicians 56-year-old Kabir Suman and 50year-old Anjan Dutta performed with a passion for music that was difficult to hide. JAUNET GURUDAS

If you ever wondered about the number of Bengalis in Bangalore, all you needed to do was attend Kolkata Blues concert - featuring two of Kolkata’s finest musicians Kabir Suman and Anjan Dutta - at the Chowdiah Memorial Hall last week. I was confused whether I was in Bangalore or Kolkata, as the fully-packed auditorium with Bengali music enthusiasts swayed to Kabir and Anjan’s music. The crowd, mostly middle-aged, looked nostalgic as they heard and sang along, to all those tracks they grew up listening to. Deccan Herald Now Available Globally in Print Format

While Anjan spoke about the background of each song before he began, Kabir just went from song to song, making the crowd near-hysterical.

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Kabir’s first self-composed album hit the market in 1992, turning him into a cult figure overnight, especially for the youth. Over the last nine years he has done pioneering work to transform modern Bengali music into something more contemporary. Search DH

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He is also the only singer-songwriter in the Indian subcontinent to have shared the stage with American folk singer Pete Seeger performed jointly on two concerts. Anjan Dutta, an actor and director who later became a singer and composer, has been singing for a decade now. Together and in association with India Foundation for the Arts (IFA) they brought “Kolkata Blues”, to Bangalore. In a chat with mediapersons they spoke about their life and music. What made you create Jeebonmukhi (a modern-day urban life) songs? Kabir: Jeebonmukhi, has nothing to do with music, nothing to do with any tradition. Twenty years ago when the Congress was losing ground and the Leftists were

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gaining power, revolution was taking place in all forms of art, except music. There were wonderful melodies, but the text and structure had no meaning. When I was 22-23 years old, I saw a dead body with a dagger stuck in it floating in a canal. And here I was singing romantic songs, which made no sense at that time. It was then that I decided that if I sing I will write my own songs. Who has been your inspiration in song writing? Kabir: Sukumar Ray, has been a great inspiration for song writing. He wrote comments and criticisms in the form limericks and brought in lot of humour. If not for his works I wouldn't have learnt how to write. I owe my pen to him, he created a revolution. Anjan: I was inspired by Kabir, he wrote, played and sang about modern times, he was the pioneer. I only followed the tradition he started and joined him in his journey and made money (laughs). Your first time in Bangalore? Anjan: We are here to support the IFA. And we have always heard that Bangalore is very musically tuned. We wanted to see how the City accepted our kind of music. And the Bangalore Bengali crowd didn’t just accept their music, the smiles on their faces said it all!

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