Stroll down musical memory lane

Jatileswar Mukhopadhyay, not the abstruse God, but the simple hearted singer-musician representing the golden age of Bangla songs of the latter half of the 20th century, performed at a special musical soiree held at The Daily Star Centre on September 20.The living legend is among the very few ambidextrous music creators who after Panchakobi (Tagore, Nazrul, DL Roy, Atul Prasad and Rajanikanta) embellished the trend of Bangla music with his poetic lyrics, aesthetic compositions and idiosyncratic renditions that evoke a harmony of words and melody together with a depth of different tastes. Music exponents name none but Mukhopadhyay after the legendary Salil Chowdhury with regard to his contributions.The artiste started the musical soiree with the song “Amar Swapan Kinte Parey Emon Aamir Koi?”The solo soiree, titled “Katha O Gaan-e Jatileswar Mukhopadhyay-er Sathey” was hosted in baithaki style by noted Bangladeshi singer Syed Abdul Hadi. Prior to performing the song, the veteran artiste proudly mentioned the featured number as timeless. “None of my ancestors has the ability to create such a piece. Someone supreme had made me write this song,” he said.Walking down memory lane, the eminent artiste shared his musical memories coupled with the background of the compositions that he performed at the soiree. “Inspired by Ustad Mehdi Hassan’s live rendition of the ghazal ‘Shola Tha Jal Bujha Hoon’ in Kolkata, I wrote and composed the song.”Mukhopadhyay next performed the song, “Ey Kon Shokal”, set on raga “Bhatiyar”. Noted Bangladeshi singers, connoisseurs and other artistes were in the audience to enjoy the humour and renditions by Jatileswar Mukhopadhyay. The audience requested many popular songs of him while the octogenarian artiste performed them, while corresponding with the audience with his inborn wit and humour. The singer’s repertoire on request included “Tomar Shongey Dekha Na Holey”, “Bo(n)dhua Amar Chokhey”, “Keu Bole Phalgun”, “O Borsha Rey” and “O Sajan Haye”.The song “Ami Phul Ke Jedin”, recorded by Pintu Bhattacharya and later by Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty, contains extraordinary metaphor of melancholy. The singer seemed to pour passion into his rendition of the song. With apt rhythm and melody, Mukhopadhyay captivated hearts with his rendition of “Mohon Banshi Bajey”. Based on raga “Bibhash”, Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty recorded and popularised the number. Later, he rendered the song “Ami Choley Gele Pashaner Bukey”, originally popularised by his guru Satinath Mukhopadhyay. And last but not the least, the artiste presented a Salil Chowdhury song “Pagol Hawa”.Mukhopadhyay first and later Subir Sen recorded the song.Pallab Sanyal on tabla, Rooptanu on keyboard and Dipan on guitar accompanied the singer. Mukhopadhyay’s wife Sabita Mukhopadhyay and maternal nephew percussionist Shakti Mukhopadhyay accompanied him on his maiden Bangladesh trip.The event was organised in joint manner by The Daily Star and Simantic Creative Concern, in association with Bengal Foundation.Prior to the performance, CEO of Simantic Creative Concern, singer Nasima Shaheen Fancy welcomed the gathering, while Editor and Publisher of The Daily Star, Mahfuz Anam delivered the welcome address. The Executive Editor of The Daily Star, Syed Badrul Ahsan, delivered a vote of thanks at the end of the event.