BENGAL CLASSICAL MUSIC FESTIVAL 2015

Maestros from home and abroad mesmerise audience

The audiences wait in the long queue with immense patience and cooperate with the security personnel cordially at the gates of the venue—the wonderful picture that drew everyone’s attention just before the event clearly says that the previous editions of the ‘Bengal Classical Music Festival’ (BCMF) has succeeded to attract a huge fan base of classical music in the country. The fourth edition of BCMF 2015, which has been dedicated to late noted artist Qayyum Chowdhury this year, began on Friday night at Army Stadium in the capital. The classical music maestros from home and abroad mesmerised the Dhaka audience on the opening day of the festival.
After entering into the venue amid tight security and organised supervision, the audience discovered the same previous resplendent stage, sitting arrangement, gallery, food courts and different types of stalls for other purposes. The galleries in the venue have been decorated with the pictures with all legendary music maestros from home and abroad, even many photos are placed in the field. Among the pictures, a new face has been added this year; none other than, the face of Qayyum Chowdhury, who passed away last year after falling unconscious while addressing BCMF 2014 at the same venue.
Yesterday, the event kicked off with a Bharatnatyam performance by Pallavi Dance Center directed by Minu Haque. Human rights activist Sultana Kamal handed over the festival memento to Minu Haque after the performance.
After the Bharatnatyam performance, the young students of Bengal Parampara Sangeetalay performed Tabla Kirtan, which included Supantho Mojumder, M J J Bhoobaun, Pancham Sanyal, Fahmida Nazneem, Chinmoy Bhowmik, Mir Naqibul Islam, Nusrat-E-Jahan, Prashanta Bhowmik and Ajay Joglekar.  Chairman of Bengal Foundation Abul Khair and Cultural Affairs Minister Asaduzzaman Noor handed over festival mementos to the young performers.
The third performance of the day was a Dhrupad by the Music Department of Rajshahi University, which was directed by Dr. Asit Roy and assisted by Associate Professor Sholok Hossain. Animika Sarker, Arpita Chakraberty, Humayun Kabir, Monish Biswas, Suvendu Sarkar, Mousumi Biswas, and Tanusree Sen. Lecturer of the music department, Alamgir Parvez performed Pakhwaj. The first group performance was a Raaga Malkosh.
Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith inaugurated the festival formally as chief guest, while Cultural Affairs Minister Asaduzzaman Noor, Managing Director of Square Toiletries Ltd. Anjan Chowdhury, CEO and Managing Director of BRAC Bank Ltd. Selim R F Hussain and Chief Operating Officer of Robi Axiata Limited Mahtab Uddin Ahmed were present as special guests at the event.
At the inaugural ceremony, there was a bold sign of expression of profound grief for deceased Qayyum Chowdhury. Cultural Minister Asaduzzaman Noor said, “Qayyum Chowdhury was not only an artist, but also he was our dream man, a source of inspiration. The vacuum we feel after loosing him, that is not possible to fulfil again.”
“One doesn’t need to be a classical music aficionado to enjoy this music. I keep coming back because I enjoy it”, Noor added further.
Abul Maal Abdul Muhith said, “The evolution of culture also shows the evolution of tastes of a society. This type of arrangement will develop the taste and mindsets of the participants. For the last four years I have been inaugurating this event which has been a matter of joy for me.”
Chairman of Bengal Foundation Abul Khair said in his speech, “Prime Minister herself gave her consent regarding the five-day event. We are extremely grateful to her for this. We are also grateful to the audience for being the best in the world.”
Anjan Chowdhury said, “The people’s minds are at peace when they have a vibrant cultural sector to focus on. This is the impression I get every time I come to this annual event”.
After the inauguration, Jayaprada Ramamurthy, an Indian Carnatic flutist who came to Bangladesh after 17 long years, was seen on the stage with Carnatic flute. She performed Raaga Hansadhwani and Hindolam, followed by a performance of Tagore’s tune in Raaga Behag, Raaga Aahir  Bhairav and  the composition of the song “Esho Shyamolo Shundaro” in Raaga Desh. The performance ended with a southern Raaga Bhagyada Lakshmi. The support performers were Subhash Chala (flute), Chakrapani Gangulakurthi (violin) and Bala Subrahmanyan Parupali (mridangam).
Rahul Sharma performed a south Indian raaga Vachaspati’s Alaap, Jor,  Jhala and compositions of Jhanptaal and Tintaal in santoor. Mukund Raj Deo assisted him with Tabla. At the end of his performance, festival mementos were handed over to them by the State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid.
Kaushiki Chakrabotry started her performance with Raaga Malkosh. She rendered a Dadra in Raaga Manjh Khambaj. With a bandish in Raaga Maand, she sang the Ranbindra Sangeet “Bodhu michey raag koro na”. With her, Satyajit Talwalkar was in Tabla, Ajay Joglekar in Harmonium and Farabi Islam and Priyanka Das from the Bengal Parampara Sangeetalay in Tanpura. Kaushiki and her accompanists were honoured with a festival memento by Mahfuz Anam, Editor of the Daily Star.
Pandit Kushol Das mesmerised the audience with Raaga Hemant in Sitar in the beginning. It followed a dhun in Raaga Pahari. Satyajit Talwalkar assisted him in Tabla.
Shahidullah Khan Badal, the Publisher of the New Age handed him the festival memento.
The last performance of the opening day of the BCMF 2015 was Carnatic vocal rendition by Bombay Jayashri. She performed a number of Raagas namely Hansadhwani, Maya Malab Goul, Kalavati, Hansanandi. She also rendered Mirar Vajan in Shyam Kalyan Raaga and Tillana in Desh Raaga. She was assisted by Srikant Venkataraman in Violin, Delhi S Sairam in Mridangam and Krishna S in Ghatam and Supriya Das and Razia Sultana in Tanpura. Abur Khair, Chairman of Bengal Foundation handed over the festival memento to Vidushi Bombay Jayashri.
Square presents BCMF 2015 is being organised by Bengal Foundation and supported by BRAC Bank Ltd, powered by Robi Axiata Ltd. ICE Today, ICE Business Times, Bengal Barota are the media partners, with Maasranga TV (Bangladesh) as the broadcast partner. Le Meridian Dhaka is the hospitality partner, Bengal Parampara Sangeetalay and Bengal Digital are associating the event. Overall support is provided by Perfect Harmony Production Singapore along with Blues Communications in charge of event management.
To note, for the last three years, the Bengal Classical Music Festival has been the largest classical music event in the subcontinent, showcasing performances from over two hundred classically trained singers and dancers.
Yesterday, a number of celebrated local and foreign artistes and teams captivated the audience with their brilliant performances.
 Today, on the third day of BCMF 2015, the event will run from 7pm to 5am.  l

BENGAL CLASSICAL MUSIC FESTIVAL 2015

Maestros from home and abroad mesmerise audience

The audiences wait in the long queue with immense patience and cooperate with the security personnel cordially at the gates of the venuethe wonderful picture that drew everyones attention just before the event clearly says that the previous editions of the Bengal Classical Music Festival (BCMF) has succeeded to attract a huge fan base of classical music in the country. The fourth edition of BCMF 2015, which has been dedicated to late noted artist Qayyum Chowdhury this year, began on Friday night at Army Stadium in the capital. The classical music maestros from home and abroad mesmerised the Dhaka audience on the opening day of the festival. After entering into the venue amid tight security and organised supervision, the audience discovered the same previous resplendent stage, sitting arrangement, gallery, food courts and different types of stalls for other purposes. The galleries in the venue have been decorated with the pictures with all legendary music maestros from home and abroad, even many photos are placed in the field. Among the pictures, a new face has been added this year; none other than, the face of Qayyum Chowdhury, who passed away last year after falling unconscious while addressing BCMF 2014 at the same venue. Yesterday, the event kicked off with a Bharatnatyam performance by Pallavi Dance Center directed by Minu Haque. Human rights activist Sultana Kamal handed over the festival memento to Minu Haque after the performance. After the Bharatnatyam performance, the young students of Bengal Parampara Sangeetalay performed Tabla Kirtan, which included Supantho Mojumder, M J J Bhoobaun, Pancham Sanyal, Fahmida Nazneem, Chinmoy Bhowmik, Mir Naqibul Islam, Nusrat-E-Jahan, Prashanta Bhowmik and Ajay Joglekar. Chairman of Bengal Foundation Abul Khair and Cultural Affairs Minister Asaduzzaman Noor handed over festival mementos to the young performers. The third performance of the day was a Dhrupad by the Music Department of Rajshahi University, which was directed by Dr. Asit Roy and assisted by Associate Professor Sholok Hossain. Animika Sarker, Arpita Chakraberty, Humayun Kabir, Monish Biswas, Suvendu Sarkar, Mousumi Biswas, and Tanusree Sen. Lecturer of the music department, Alamgir Parvez performed Pakhwaj. The first group performance was a Raaga Malkosh. Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith inaugurated the festival formally as chief guest, while Cultural Affairs Minister Asaduzzaman Noor, Managing Director of Square Toiletries Ltd. Anjan Chowdhury, CEO and Managing Director of BRAC Bank Ltd. Selim R F Hussain and Chief Operating Officer of Robi Axiata Limited Mahtab Uddin Ahmed were present as special guests at the event. At the inaugural ceremony, there was a bold sign of expression of profound grief for deceased Qayyum Chowdhury. Cultural Minister Asaduzzaman Noor said, Qayyum Chowdhury was not only an artist, but also he was our dream man, a source of inspiration. The vacuum we feel after loosing him, that is not possible to fulfil again. One doesnt need to be a classical music aficionado to enjoy this music. I keep coming back because I enjoy it, Noor added further. Abul Maal Abdul Muhith said, The evolution of culture also shows the evolution of tastes of a society. This type of arrangement will develop the taste and mindsets of the participants. For the last four years I have been inaugurating this event which has been a matter of joy for me. Chairman of Bengal Foundation Abul Khair said in his speech, Prime Minister herself gave her consent regarding the five-day event. We are extremely grateful to her for this. We are also grateful to the audience for being the best in the world. Anjan Chowdhury said, The peoples minds are at peace when they have a vibrant cultural sector to focus on. This is the impression I get every time I come to this annual event. After the inauguration, Jayaprada Ramamurthy, an Indian Carnatic flutist who came to Bangladesh after 17 long years, was seen on the stage with Carnatic flute. She performed Raaga Hansadhwani and Hindolam, followed by a performance of Tagores tune in Raaga Behag, Raaga Aahir Bhairav and the composition of the song Esho Shyamolo Shundaro in Raaga Desh. The performance ended with a southern Raaga Bhagyada Lakshmi. The support performers were Subhash Chala (flute), Chakrapani Gangulakurthi (violin) and Bala Subrahmanyan Parupali (mridangam). Rahul Sharma performed a south Indian raaga Vachaspatis Alaap, Jor, Jhala and compositions of Jhanptaal and Tintaal in santoor. Mukund Raj Deo assisted him with Tabla. At the end of his performance, festival mementos were handed over to them by the State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid. Kaushiki Chakrabotry started her performance with Raaga Malkosh. She rendered a Dadra in Raaga Manjh Khambaj. With a bandish in Raaga Maand, she sang the Ranbindra Sangeet Bodhu michey raag koro na. With her, Satyajit Talwalkar was in Tabla, Ajay Joglekar in Harmonium and Farabi Islam and Priyanka Das from the Bengal Parampara Sangeetalay in Tanpura. Kaushiki and her accompanists were honoured with a festival memento by Mahfuz Anam, Editor of the Daily Star. Pandit Kushol Das mesmerised the audience with Raaga Hemant in Sitar in the beginning. It followed a dhun in Raaga Pahari. Satyajit Talwalkar assisted him in Tabla. Shahidullah Khan Badal, the Publisher of the New Age handed him the festival memento. The last performance of the opening day of the BCMF 2015 was Carnatic vocal rendition by Bombay Jayashri. She performed a number of Raagas namely Hansadhwani, Maya Malab Goul, Kalavati, Hansanandi. She also rendered Mirar Vajan in Shyam Kalyan Raaga and Tillana in Desh Raaga. She was assisted by Srikant Venkataraman in Violin, Delhi S Sairam in Mridangam and Krishna S in Ghatam and Supriya Das and Razia Sultana in Tanpura. Abur Khair, Chairman of Bengal Foundation handed over the festival memento to Vidushi Bombay Jayashri. Square presents BCMF 2015 is being organised by Bengal Foundation and supported by BRAC Bank Ltd, powered by Robi Axiata Ltd. ICE Today, ICE Business Times, Bengal Barota are the media partners, with Maasranga TV (Bangladesh) as the broadcast partner. Le Meridian Dhaka is the hospitality partner, Bengal Parampara Sangeetalay and Bengal Digital are associating the event. Overall support is provided by Perfect Harmony Production Singapore along with Blues Communications in charge of event management. To note, for the last three years, the Bengal Classical Music Festival has been the largest classical music event in the subcontinent, showcasing performances from over two hundred classically trained singers and dancers. Yesterday, a number of celebrated local and foreign artistes and teams captivated the audience with their brilliant performances. Today, on the third day of BCMF 2015, the event will run from 7pm to 5am. l