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The Soul Local at Gitanjali Stadium was a fun-filled, melodious affair

Kolkata cosplayers from the DC Community of Bengal gathered there for a cosplay competition

Sramana Ray Published 13.01.23, 12:16 AM
Arko Mukhaerjee Collective performed on stage as dusk fell. Arko’s powerful voice as the lead vocalist, David Beck on gumri, Sounak Roy on drums, Koustav Dey on guitar, Sajib Sarkar on Indian percussions, Kanishka Sarkar on live electronics, Nitin Mani on bass and Sourav Bagchi as the sound engineer mesmerised the crowd with their urban folk numbers. Dancers Sandra Chatterjee (Arko’s wife) and Srabanti Bhattacharjee presented a unique dance performance to their version of Hum dekhenge, which was an explosion of so many emotions clustered up together. “I promised my friend David the vibe of the young heart of Kolkata and he’s come all the way from Germany to play the gumri and witness the reinstation of multi-culture. The Soul Local was a perfect platform. Hum dekhenge is a song about equality and getting classical dancers belonging to a strong repertoire is experimenting with the form and exploring different ways of presenting it with the power of bodies. That’s what we wanted to show through our performance. Music for me is communication, an expression otherwise lost in words,” said Arko.

Arko Mukhaerjee Collective performed on stage as dusk fell. Arko’s powerful voice as the lead vocalist, David Beck on gumri, Sounak Roy on drums, Koustav Dey on guitar, Sajib Sarkar on Indian percussions, Kanishka Sarkar on live electronics, Nitin Mani on bass and Sourav Bagchi as the sound engineer mesmerised the crowd with their urban folk numbers. Dancers Sandra Chatterjee (Arko’s wife) and Srabanti Bhattacharjee presented a unique dance performance to their version of Hum dekhenge, which was an explosion of so many emotions clustered up together. “I promised my friend David the vibe of the young heart of Kolkata and he’s come all the way from Germany to play the gumri and witness the reinstation of multi-culture. The Soul Local was a perfect platform. Hum dekhenge is a song about equality and getting classical dancers belonging to a strong repertoire is experimenting with the form and exploring different ways of presenting it with the power of bodies. That’s what we wanted to show through our performance. Music for me is communication, an expression otherwise lost in words,” said Arko.

Last month’s Christmas Eve and Christmas were sorted for the Kolkatans gathered at the Gitanjali Stadium for The Soul Local hosted by Calcutta Cacophony. The organisers Rishi Raj Ghosh and Ankita Chakraborty started Calcutta Cacophony back in 2014 and blew it up into a full-fledged youth brigade and a mixed-media forum on social media. It’s run by people who embrace Bangali nostalgia. The Soul Local hosted a series of concerts on December 24 and 25 that saw a footfall of more than 17,000 people. Day One witnessed superb performances by bands and artistes like Arko Mukhaerjee Collective, Underground Authority and Indian Ocean. Day Two witnessed performances by Anjan Dutt, Amyt Datta, Neel Dutt, Deboprotim Baksi and Proshanto followed by Fossils delivering a power-packed performance. The Soul Local was home to a host of food stalls, accessories, posters and pop-up stalls like Omo, Love me Twice and Art Baksho. Kolkata cosplayers from the DC Community of Bengal gathered there for a cosplay competition and it was a colourful affair.

Glimpses...

DAY 1

Adil Rashid on guitars, Bubbla on bass, Sourish on drums and EPR, the emcee, poet-rapper of Underground Authority, set the stage on fire and gave the audience a taste of the Kolkata hip hop culture. They sang some originals and covers like Pehchaan, Udta Punjab, and In The End as a tribute to Linkin Park, Humma and our utmost favourite Urvashi. “Kolkata is always like home where we are loved the most and it was as awesome as always performing here. Savera, a song from our new studio album that’s supposed to come out made today’s performance special for us... and it feels amazing judging MTV Hustle in 2022 as it’s a big thing for Kolkata and Bengal hip hop. I’d like to tell all The Telegraph readers and hip hop fans to exercise their right to express and not to impress, to inspire and create revolution,” said EPR Iyer when asked about his experience at The Soul Local and his journey to MTV Hustle and hip hop.

Adil Rashid on guitars, Bubbla on bass, Sourish on drums and EPR, the emcee, poet-rapper of Underground Authority, set the stage on fire and gave the audience a taste of the Kolkata hip hop culture. They sang some originals and covers like Pehchaan, Udta Punjab, and In The End as a tribute to Linkin Park, Humma and our utmost favourite Urvashi. “Kolkata is always like home where we are loved the most and it was as awesome as always performing here. Savera, a song from our new studio album that’s supposed to come out made today’s performance special for us... and it feels amazing judging MTV Hustle in 2022 as it’s a big thing for Kolkata and Bengal hip hop. I’d like to tell all The Telegraph readers and hip hop fans to exercise their right to express and not to impress, to inspire and create revolution,” said EPR Iyer when asked about his experience at The Soul Local and his journey to MTV Hustle and hip hop.

Rishi Raj Ghosh and Ankita Chakraborty (founders of Calcutta Cacophony) are all smiles after a successful event at Gitanjali Stadium.

Rishi Raj Ghosh and Ankita Chakraborty (founders of Calcutta Cacophony) are all smiles after a successful event at Gitanjali Stadium.

DAY 2

Anjan Dutt’s songs like Ranjana, Tumi ashbe bole tai, Bela Bose are evergreen and managed to evoke nostalgia. “I feel Bela Bose is still evergreen because it is relatable and a love song about failed love never fails. The spirit of Kolkata, the welcoming nature and love from the crowd is unforgettable and I can’t give up on that,” said Anjan. “I feel great to be able to stand on stage and pursue my passion of music and I hope everyone who is into music can carry on with it as passionately. It feels great to perform with Neel Dutt on stage and most bands have one of my students playing and as a teacher I feel really proud as long as they are serious about the music they’re doing,” added Amyt Datta.

Anjan Dutt’s songs like Ranjana, Tumi ashbe bole tai, Bela Bose are evergreen and managed to evoke nostalgia. “I feel Bela Bose is still evergreen because it is relatable and a love song about failed love never fails. The spirit of Kolkata, the welcoming nature and love from the crowd is unforgettable and I can’t give up on that,” said Anjan. “I feel great to be able to stand on stage and pursue my passion of music and I hope everyone who is into music can carry on with it as passionately. It feels great to perform with Neel Dutt on stage and most bands have one of my students playing and as a teacher I feel really proud as long as they are serious about the music they’re doing,” added Amyt Datta.

The crowd went wild as Fossils took the stage. Rupam Islam, Allan Ao, Deep Ghosh, Prasenjit Chakrabutty and Tanmoy Das belted out popular numbers like Ekla ghor, Bishakto manush and Acid among other songs and impressed the crowd with their powerful performance. “Even after 25 years of Fossils, people in large numbers are coming for the first time and they are enjoying our performance. They are going home not only with the songs, but also with the philosophy of our music. I can stay as young as the youth by submerging into the reflection that I always find in their evergreen spirit. All the songs performed are special to us,” said Rupam.

The crowd went wild as Fossils took the stage. Rupam Islam, Allan Ao, Deep Ghosh, Prasenjit Chakrabutty and Tanmoy Das belted out popular numbers like Ekla ghor, Bishakto manush and Acid among other songs and impressed the crowd with their powerful performance. “Even after 25 years of Fossils, people in large numbers are coming for the first time and they are enjoying our performance. They are going home not only with the songs, but also with the philosophy of our music. I can stay as young as the youth by submerging into the reflection that I always find in their evergreen spirit. All the songs performed are special to us,” said Rupam.

The Bandeh boys rocked it on stage at The Soul Local as always with powerful and melodious numbers like Ma rewa, Kandisa, Tu hai, Tu kisi rail si and more. Indian Ocean band members Rahul Ram on bass, Amit Kilam on drums and gabgubi, Nikhil Rao on guitars, Tuheen Chakravorty on Indian percussions and Himanshu Joshi on vocals impressed the crowd with their melodies that lingered. “Meri zindagi hai music, it’s my life. Life should not be mapped out but enjoyed,” said Himanshu.

The Bandeh boys rocked it on stage at The Soul Local as always with powerful and melodious numbers like Ma rewa, Kandisa, Tu hai, Tu kisi rail si and more. Indian Ocean band members Rahul Ram on bass, Amit Kilam on drums and gabgubi, Nikhil Rao on guitars, Tuheen Chakravorty on Indian percussions and Himanshu Joshi on vocals impressed the crowd with their melodies that lingered. “Meri zindagi hai music, it’s my life. Life should not be mapped out but enjoyed,” said Himanshu.

The Mask and Ken Kaneki (from Tokyo Ghoul) get ready for the Cosplay competition by DC Community of Bengal

The Mask and Ken Kaneki (from Tokyo Ghoul) get ready for the Cosplay competition by DC Community of Bengal Picture: Calcutta Cacophony

Pictures: Riddho Roy

RELATED TOPICS

Live Music Rupam Islam Anjan Dutt Indian Ocean
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