Jalsha Ghorer Gaan, a dance theatre production conceptualised by singer Riddhi Bandyopadhyay, will be travelling beyond borders to be showcased at the North American Bengali Conference this year. The conference is scheduled to be hosted at Las Vegas from July 1 to 3. Directed by Riddhi, the production will feature actress Richa Sharma’s acting and dance, choreographer Avirup Sengupta’s dance and choreography, Riddhi’s music, Devajit Bandyopadhyay’s script and Debshankar Halder’s narration.
The dance theatre production based on the mid-19th century Renaissance era in Bengal brings to the forefront stories of women actresses and dancers from the red-light areas, whose dance and music was an intrinsic part of the 19th century babu culture and were performed to entertain the Bengali intelligentsia. Their performances enlivened and added grandeur to the glorious performance rooms of the Bengali babus of that era.
“Actresses who came from the red-light areas, like Binodini, Angurbala debi earned fame as popular singer-actresses of that era. They were self-groomed and self-taught. Women working today in various creative fields know that the journey of our performance begins from there. The collection of songs, dance and poems and stories that they performed and that revolved around their lives is what this production is about,” said Riddhi, who conceptualised the production.
She added, “I had worked with Soumitra Chatterjee on this before. Girls and boys from the red light areas have worked with me on this project before. I am feeling very happy that this will be showcased in the Bengali conference, where Bengalis can get to see and know about something that remained unexplored until now. Bengali culture is not just about Rabindranath. Rabindranath is a huge part of it but there are many others who have been a part of it. Those talented people have also contributed to Bengali culture. In the production we will have songs of Bidyasundar, Angurbala and others.”
Actress Richa Sharma who is acting and dancing in the production, said, “The way Avirup introduced me to dance the first time was really amazing. I performed with him and he was very happy with me. For me, it is really an honour to pay tribute to those Bengali artistes who came from the red-light area. We are performing on three songs. This is extremely emotional for me.”
Avirup Sengupta who is dancing with Richa and is also doing the choreography, said, “It is a great opportunity for me to portray a character from the red-light area who made a significant contribution to the culture of that era through their music and dance. This will be the first time that Richa, Riddhi and I will be performing together for NABC. We have choreographed the performance in a neoclassical format.”
Registration for the show can be done at nabc2022.org.