On a cool afternoon on November 20, the reception of the Hyatt Centric Ballygunge Kolkata came alive with the gentle strains of music drifting from Tess, its Euro-Asian bistro. The occasion was Symphony of Words & Notes, an event where the artistry of poetry and piano met in perfect harmony. Guests were treated to an enchanting duet by poet Ipsita Ganguli and pianist Rajlakshmi Syam. Ganguli’s evocative verses blended with Syam’s melodious keyboard chords to make the afternoon a gentle celebration of rhythm, melody, and emotion
Photos: Amit Datta
From Ganguli’s end, the poet narrated poems from her book ‘Why I Write Poetry’. “Rajlakshmi and I have been performing together since 2018. I love this concept because poetry is still a niche concept and I find it as musical as a song. Which is why I like to put it in a format that most people will enjoy. I have done this numerous times with singers, sarod played and it is just a nice way to bring artistes together,” she said
Rajlakshmi Syam, on her keyboard, churned out the chords and tunes of well-known songs like ‘I Had A Dream’, ‘Alo Amar Alo Ogo’, ‘Sway’ and ‘Ajeeb Dastan Hai Yeh’. "Ipsita had given me her book before the event, which I was supposed to go through and curate my sounds. But when I saw the crowd, I figured that I should do a medley instead. Some were improvised and some were planned songs. This was a smaller performance, but we are planning a bigger one at another club,” she said
Nicolas Facino, the executive director of Alliance Française du Bengale, with his wife, author Iryna Vikyrchak stopped by. “Ipsita’s poetry and the keyboards went very well together because both have so much soul in them. The stories that came out of the poems related well with the music,” said Iryna
Post the show, the general manager of Hyatt Centric Ballygunge Kolkata, Glen Dsouza (second from right, standing), chatted with the guests. "Kolkata, a city steeped in art and culture, inspires everything at Hyatt Centric Kolkata. This poetry and piano evening at Tess celebrated the city’s artistic soul, paired with a curated Euro-Asian menu, blending tradition, creativity, and hospitality seamlessly," he said
