A power-packed performance by the students of Soul Symphony Institute of Performing Arts rocked Kala Mandir at its third annual show, Rhythmic Karma 2005, earlier this month. Picture by Sanjoy Chattopadhyaya

When the prestigious Aditya Vikram Birla Kalakiran Puraskar is distributed on November 12, Sandipan Samajpati, one of the two recipients, would be performing at Canberra, Melbourne and Brisbane.

But such awards, feels the young vocalist, are important because ?they are an assurance that I am on the right path?.

?I look forward to the time when I can accept the award at a later function,? he says, packing his bags for Australia at his south-Calcutta residence.

Sitting in the company of an array of tanpuras in his spacious riyaz room, Sandipan says that the only way to be a musician is to love music and immerse oneself completely in it. A disciple of Pandit Manas Chakraborty (son of the legendary Sangeetacharya Tarapada Chakraborty), Sandipan has, over the past decade, distinguished himself as an exponent of khayals and thumris of the Kirana gharana.

He has several awards to his credit, such as the Surrendra Paul Award, Ramkrishna Bua Smriti Puraskar and the Jadubhatta Purashkar, and an enviable list of performances in India and abroad.

?The award is for outstanding achievement by a singer aged between 25 and 40. It is special this year because the person getting the Kalashikhar Puraskar for lifetime achievement will be Gangubai Hangal,? says Sandipan?s father, reputed footballer Sukumar Samajpati, who took up singing after retirement.

Music, sports and art are all in the Samajpati family. Sandipan?s mother, a scientist, is also a ?gifted singer?. The living room walls are adorned with portraits of his artist grandfather and his great grandfather, who was a kirtania.

Sandipan Samajpati. Sticking to the roots

As Sandipan?s wife Salma is a ghazal singer herself, one wonders what their one-and-a-half-month-old would grow up to be.

Australia is a new frontier because not too many classical musicians from India have been there, feels Sandipan. ?The European audience is surprisingly sensitive and discerning. They may not understand the Hindi bandishes but they comprehend the emotions.?

But nothing beats performing in India. ?The response from a live audience contributes greatly to a singer?s success,? says Sandipan, adding that he would be saving his best for his annual solo at GD Birla Sabhagar later in November.

Spread the word against child abuse

Believe it or not, about 90 per cent of Calcuttans are or have been a victim of child sexual abuse, claims Pranaadhika Sinha, founder and head of Elaan, a Calcutta-based group working to generate awareness about child sexual abuse.

Pranaadhika was in the thick of things on Thursday when Oxford Bookstore hosted Undisclosed, an evening focussing on the shadowy area of child abuse.

?There are so many laws in the US to curb child abusers but there is nothing in India. To date, the only option for victims is to bottle up the experience, keep quiet and pretend it never happened. I have seen so many instances where child victims of incest have been asked by their parents to ?forget? it, because an uncle or aunt was involved. But the instances are never ever forgotten and they cause major behavioural changes in the child and a total loss of trust that continues even in later life,? she says.

Child sexual abuse has always been there, in both urban and rural realms, insists Elaan. People are aware of it but refuse to acknowledge it. ?Victims have been coming to us or talking over the phone, which is a positive sign. There are many children and those in the 19-25-age bracket who just need someone to talk to,? says Pranaadhika.

A thrust area for Elaan is campaigning for LACSA (law against child sexual abuse). A legal expert is on board and there?s a legal representative at every event.

Members of a band from The Cambridge School perform at the event at Oxford Bookstore on Thursday. Picture by Sanjoy Chattopadhyaya

Shelters for victims are coming up in Calcutta but little is done to prevent the crimes. ?One of the best ways to stop child abuse is to sensitise everyone ? children, guardians, teachers, care-givers ? and what better way to address all of them than through schools. So we offered to conduct sessions at some of the most prominent schools in the city but unfortunately schools here are yet to grow out of their prejudices. But we do have many individual students on our team,? says Pranaadhika.

Established in July 2004 by a group of three youngsters ? Pranaadhika, Trina Dasgupta and Anushua Dey ? Elaan is currently trying to gain support from other NGOs and professionals from different fields to fight the malaise better.

Sebanti Sarkar