As unrelenting showers enveloped the city on the last day of July, The Tollygunge Club celebrated the significance of Earth’s most prized element. The East India Dastangos (EID) and Living Waters Museum collaborated to showcase ‘Aab Ka Khwaab’, a musical storytelling session about the power of water. The event was made more special, as the outgoing US Consul General in Kolkata, Malinda Pavek, made her stage debut. My Kolkata was there.
The seeds of the evening were sown when Sukrit Sen, a member of EID and the leader of Living Waters Museum’s Kolkata Chapter, envisioned an event that would bring together representatives from all the countries in the city. “We hoped to foster a discussion about how similar issues are plaguing rivers across countries, and how it is the time for us all to come together and act,” he said.
(L-R) US Consul General Melinda Pavel read a letter as Rio Grande, to Swati Sharma from EID, who voiced Ganga and Yamuna. ‘The team did a brilliant job of blending traditional and western music, and I think that it will stimulate audiences to think more about their actions,’ said Melinda
While Melinda is leaving the city at the end of August, she couldn’t resist being a part of this event. “She had seen us perform, and requested if she could participate in one of our performances before leaving. Once we found a mutually convenient date, we booked Tolly Club within two days!” Sukrit gushed.
Melinda’s participation structured the performance around Indo-American relationships, with the narrative structured around the conversation between rivers. While the diplomat voiced Rio Grande in the US, EID member Swati Sharma represented Ganga and Yamuna.
(L-R) British Deputy High Commissioner to Kolkata, Andrew Fleming, and former NKDA chairman, Debashis Sen, were among the audience. ‘An ode to water through music and poetry was a fitting way to spend a rainy day,’ said Sen
Besides this, the performance explored how water influences every living being on the planet, and even the non-living elements of nature with a narration from Zahid Hossain and Palash Chaturvedi. While drawing attention to how many water bodies have over 85 crore pollutants in them, Zahid remarked, “Our industrial revolution happened barely 200 years ago. The Earth has been around for 4.5 billion years. Two-hundred years, as opposed to 4.5 billion. And we still have the gall to think that we can impact the planet. This planet isn’t going anywhere, we are.”
In keeping with the spirit of east meets west, Sukrit Sen’s tabla complimented Swarnabha Gupta’s electric guitar
Palash cited George Carlin as a key influence, adding performing this piece has helped them better understand the impact humans have on the planet. “Travelling with this performance has made us realise the importance of saying the right things. Lies are expensive, but the truth is cheap.”
Sukrit juxtaposed the narration with melodious ragas and percussion, prompting the audience to be more mindful about how they perceive this life-giving element of nature. “We were delighted to establish a cross-boundary relationship around this important cause through art,” he signed off.