On November 15, Gyan Manch witnessed a musical evening with a difference, when RaagReet celebrated Indian weddings through folk and light classical songs, culled from various states of India. It was an excellent opportunity for young artists to reach and impress a large audience.

Most of the folk songs — Matthe te chamkan vaal from Punjab, Chhajje pe patang from Uttar Pradesh and Aamer talay jhumur jhumur from Bengal, among others — were sung chorally, though three were solo performances. The songs were as spirited as they were well-rehearsed. Prateek Chakraborty was among the most promising singers, though a special mention must be made of two child artists, Soumen Mazumdar and Rajkishore Mukherjee (picture), who were remarkably tuneful and free of nerves.

Yet, much of the pleasure was taken away by the overzealous accompaniment, particularly by the keyboard, frequently threatening to drown the beautiful lyrics.

The classical component of the show was confined to a few bandishes with taan in ragas such as Behag, Hansadhwani and Yaman. The evening ended with the famous thumri, Babul mora, but it came punched with three folk songs that ruined the pathos of the original.