Kobitay Kathalap Utsav ‘breaks the bias’ within multidisciplinary arts

A two-day festival of poetry and music marked a decade of Kobitay Kathalap, a platform for multidisciplinary art forms, at Gyan Manch on September 9 and 10. My Kolkata was the digital partner for the event Kobitay Kathalap Utsav.

Moments from the event conceived by Chandrima Roy, the initiator of Kobitay Kathalap:

Kobitay Kathalap Utsav was formally inaugurated by Debashis Sen, managing director of HIDCO; Dipak Ghosh, professor Emeritus, Jadavpur University; Partha Sarathi Bhattacharyya, former chairman, Coal India Limited and Chinmoy Guha, professor, former head of the department, English, Calcutta University and scholar of French language and literature in the presence of festival founder and director Chandrima Roy at Gyan Manch on September 9.

Mir compered the programme on both days. He took the audience on a journey of Kobitay Kathalap since its inception, highlighting its progress throughout the evenings along with his signature comic punches.

The opening act comprised a shehnai recital by Hasan Haider Khan who was joined by Rupak Bhattacharjee on the tabla. Raag Yaman on the shehnai set the tone for the evening.

Chandrima Roy addressed the audience and welcomed everyone. She explained how the prime objective of the Utsav was to ‘‘break the bias’’ and promote multidisciplinary arts along with academics. Talking about the theme, she told My Kolkata, “In our society, there are a lot of biases like education and musical aspirations cannot be pursued hand in hand. There is actually no gate pass for those who are not from a very enlightened background. These are different kinds of biases. Kobitay Kathalap has always been aiming to break the biases with the kind of activities it has undertaken. This year, Anupam Roy was the recipient of Kobitay Kathalap Samman for his multidimensional expertise.’’

Veteran singer Srabani Sen graced the occasion during her session Bandhujoner Gaan. She sang Tagore’s songs like Aaj dhaner khete and Modhuro modhuro dhwoni baaje.

Singer, composer, National Award winner Anupam Roy was felicitated with the first Kobitay Kathalap Samman for his multidimensional talent in the fields of academics and music. “I feel very happy receiving this Samman. I wish Kobitay Kathalap all the very best. The significance of this award is that the recipient has worked in different fields and has been appreciated widely. It’s not that someone who studies cannot be interested in sports or someone who is into sports cannot be interested in cooking. It [the award] has a different outlook and paves the way for the future.’’

A very special Kobitay Kathalap calendar was formally released on stage by Barun Chanda and Poulami Chattopadhyay. The calendar has illustrations of characters from Bengali poetry such as Camellia, Bonolata Sen, Amalkanti, Runner and others. Artist Hiran Mitra has illustrated the calendar. The 16-page calendar can be bought on the Kobitay Kathalap website.

The evening progressed with a memorial session titled Saranye Sankha – Soumitra, in the memory of Sankha Ghosh and Soumitra Chattopadhyay. Barun Chanda recited poems like Arale, Chollo Meye written by Sankha Ghosh. Poulami Chattopadhyay read out her father’s poems like Akakdin, Shajghore darpone and Dukkhoheener abhimaan.

Ekadosh felicitated 11 elocutionists who have paved the way for future generations to learn the art and acknowledge it as a separate artform. Four elocutionists were present on stage and more were felicitated. Pankaj Saha, retired TV host; Rita Bhimani, founder CEO, Ritam Communications; Rajat Bandopadhyay, elocutionist and Saswati Guha Thakurta, compere and elocutionist spoke about their journey and recited a poem each.

The final presentation on the inaugural day was a Chhou Dance, the popular Purulia folk artform. It was presented by Jagannath Chowdhury and troupe. The act, titled Mahisasur Mardini, depicted the victory of the goddess over evil.

The opening act for the final day of Kobitay Kathalap Utsav was titled Mehfil-e-Mausiqui. The act consisted of music, songs, elocution and dance. Participants included Rupak Bhattacharjee, tabla player; Alla Rakha Kalawant, sarangi player; Brishtilekha Nandini, Ivy Banerjee, singers; Sanjib Deb, musician and Chandrima Roy.

The Kobitay Kathalap students recited poems by various poets. The junior team Ekka Dokka and senior team Bhubandanga recited poems like Paribona by Kali Prasanna Ghosh, Kothopokothan by Pramod Basu, Subeccha by Humayun Azad, Tran by Rabindranath Tagore and many more. In all, 15 students participated.

Bandhujoner Baidyapath was helmed by Manoshi Roychowdhury, co-chairman, Techno India Group, who recited poems on Tagore.

Kshetramadhab Das, a doctor by profession and a passionate musician addressed the audience.

Poet and lyricist Srijato recited some of his poems like The Waiting Room, Durbabash, Megher Naamta, Akal Srabon which he composed following Rituporno Ghosh’s death a decade ago. He also recited poems of Sunil Gangopadhyay and Sankha Ghosh.

Srijato was joined on-stage by Anindya Chatterjee, Mir and Chandrima. Chatterjee recited a poem from Chirikhana. He also sang Bhindeshi Tara, the Belashuru title track and Kon Gopone.

The first edition of Kobitay Kathalap Utsav ended with a dhaak performance signifying not only the upcoming Durga Puja festivities but also that Kobitay Kathalap Utsav ‘asche bochor abar hobe’.