The power of rock music and literature can still unite people in Kolkata, that too on a humid afternoon. However, when the psychedelic Bangla rock band Shonar Bangla Circus started its soundcheck at the Calcutta University Institute Hall, the bookshops in College Street were emptied of visitors — the sound of the guitar whammy luring hundreds into the auditorium.
It is a coincidence that the band from Bangladesh started its 2024 Kolkata tour last week in one of the oldest intellectual wings of the city, where books, literature and student movements are still prominent. The surreal literature and poetry in the band’s music mingled with the air. There was also an element of resistance and rebellion in the sound.
Their maiden album, Hyena Express, released in 2020, was a runaway hit on this side of Bengal. The listeners related to the dissonance and lyrics that can lead to haunting visuals in the mind. There are notable similarities to Pink Floyd’s music of the 1970s.
With their new album, Mohashoshan, set for release, the band, in a chat with My Kolkata, discussed their Kolkata connection, plans in the city, their music and more.
There are notable similarities to Pink Floyd’s music of the 1970s
Kolkata connection and Bangla music
Vocalist and songwriter Probar Ripon’s influences range from Mohiner Ghoraguli and Kabir Suman to Pratul Mukhopadhyay, among other luminaries from West Bengal.
He has never differentiated between the listeners from the two sides of the border. “There is no difference between the audience in Kolkata and Dhaka, or other places in Bangladesh. The language is Bangla, and it is not divided by any country. Everyone requests for Epipath and they headbang to Mrittu Utpadon Karkhana, the two most popular songs of the band,” said Ripon.
Guitarist Seth Panduranga Blumberg met his wife, Anusheh Anadil, the renowned folk singer from Bangladesh, at a concert in Kolkata. "Before I moved to Bangladesh, I came to Kolkata through Tanmoy Bose. I lived in California and my neighbour was Ravi Shankar. He was friends with Tanmoy da, who was putting together a show with the Bauls. That is when I met Anusheh. A year into living in Bangladesh, I met Ripon in 2011," shares Blumberg, who regularly jams in the city with musicians Gaurab ‘Gaboo’ Chatterjee and Mainak ‘Bumpy’ Nag Chowdhury.
New album ‘Mohashoshan’
Hyena Express was a nine-track album, and the new one will be a double album with 16 tracks. “Our music is in demand. We are playing all over Bangladesh. Every month, we have a string of shows. Then we do solo shows where we produce the show after finding a venue and selling tickets. It is a different format. We play for three hours,” said Blumberg.
‘The lyrics are disturbing. They may like the music, but the words can be uncomfortable since the truth is always uncomfortable,’ said Ripon
Ripon added that this is a new trend in Bangladesh. “Now, other bands have also started operating in this model. At campus shows, there is always a rush but this kind of show slows the process down. We can do all our songs.”
The band wants to promote the new album by doing one such show in Kolkata later this year. Songs such as Nisshongota and Ondho Moth are already a hit at the gigs.
The origin of the lyrics
Ripon makes unique sounds while he performs his poetry while singing. The songs talk about death, blood and a violent world where man is killing man. The song, Hyena Express, paints a picture of a train running on blood, and not diesel or electricity.
He wants to re-create Bengali poetry in the form of music. “It may sound tough compared to what people are writing. I feel song lyrics are yet to match the standards of Bengali literature. The lyrics are disturbing. They may like the music, but the words can be uncomfortable since the truth is always uncomfortable.”
"Mrittu Utpadon Karkhana was written long ago when there were attacks on Iraq. I can't do much when the system of the world is so tough. There is a civil war situation. What I can do is relate to the people who have died. I try to relate to that guy who took a bullet and looked down from the sky and said, ‘So this is your world?’ I am a representative of one of the deceased,” said Ripon.
Blumberg feels the lyrics drive the feelings of the band. “We don’t think about a genre. An actual band means the chemistry of the members. We are a real band that has found an authentic space playing together. It's not like, ‘Hey man, let’s be a band’. We feel our music.”
The new album will be an extension of the concept of Hyena Express. “It is like you board the Hyena Express to reach Mohashoshan, where people are afraid to raise their voices," added Ripon.
(L-R) Sohel (percussions), Probar Ripon (vocalist/songwriter/acoustic guitars), Shakil Haque (bass) and Seth Panduranga Blumberg (guitars)
The name of the band is inspired by the Bangladesh national anthem. “We added ‘Circus’ because people come from different backgrounds,” reasoned Ripon.
Seth is a US citizen, Saad Chowdhury (keyboardist) is British, and bassist Shakil Haque has lived in Dubai for many years, before relocating to Bangladesh, along with Ripon, Hasin Aryan (drummer), and Sohel (percussionist). The band is only six years old, but the music is already timeless.