Brushing aside network problems, a delayed start and intermittent sound issues (actually, the latter was a bit of an irritant for music lovers), a 71-year-old Kabir Suman proved that he had enough reserves to hold an audience in sway for well over a couple of hours presenting Bangla kheyal in a live digital concert under the aegis of Rangrez. Besides his absolute control over his voice and his mastery over the art, one of the benefits of Suman’s concerts is that he provides colourful (sometimes not so colourful too) vignettes behind the idea, the songs and on this evening there was also a range of new ragas.
Take, for instance, his first presentation which was Raga Aban Katha (paying a tribute to Abanindranath Tagore) — the two bandishes, “Bela jaaye chole” (vilambit) and “Sanjher rong” (drut) were replete with peripheral influences of the Amir Khusrau-created Zeelaf. Suman subtly highlighted the “tivra” Ma and rounded off with a flourish of taans setting the perfect mood for the evening. His unorthodox style also brought in a few surprises. Like the short Kalashree number, “Tomaye gawar anando” (in ektaal) was cleverly juxtaposed with the Ghulam Ali gem, “Kuch din toh baso meri ankhon mein”. A short reference but one that set many thinking about the indelible connect and the aftermath.
Ditto for the Tilang song, “Na chuyeo chuyecho”, in which he drew parallels with the Nazrul number, “Anjali laho mor” and then went on to give a sterling demonstration of the song. Earlier, he provided rich tributes to his gurus and influencers like Kalipada Das, Satyakinkar Banerjee and others referring to them in his singing.
An additional flavour was added to the evening by the Kathak dancer, Lokeshwari Dasgupta, who brought in many an impromptu move to the Bangla kheyals sung by Suman, notable among which were her whiplashing pirouettes in the Kalashree number. Mention must also be made of Jyotirmoy Banerjee’s excellent accompaniment to the songs on the harmonium, often complementing the ethos in the finishing portions, enabling the singer to push himself further.