Artists are passionate about exploring their artistic selves in diverse ways. Despite being the legatee of Ustad Rashid Khan, his son, Armaan Khan, thus chose Rabindrasangeet during an event organised by the Inner Wheel Club of Calcutta on Holi (picture, left). The programme at Gyan Manch was meant to hand over a financial contribution by the treasurer, Anuradha Wadwan, to the secretary of Ramakrishna Sarada Mission Matribhavan, Pravrajika Alokprana (picture, right), to advance the cause of women’s health.
Armaan stepped out of his comfort zone of Indian classical music and submerged himself into the magic of Tagore. He selected 10 Rabindrasangeets and Hindi songs that had been inspired by them. It was undoubtedly a difficult task to present 20 songs at a stretch with minimal musical accompaniment, but the artist successfully faced this challenge. He commenced with a song that is inseparable from the idea of Holi, “Ore grihabashi”, and “Raahi matwale”, a composition by Anil Biswas inspired by it and sung by Talat Mahmood and the actress, Suraiya, in 1954. Armaan won hearts with the generosity of his voice. He rendered songs like “Rodon bhora e basanta” and its Hindi derivative, “Mera sundar sapna beet gaya”, a Sachin Dev Burman composition sung by Geeta Dutt. Armaan sang another popular S.D. Burman composition by Kishore Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar, “Tere mere milan ki yeh raina” and the original “Jodi tare nai chini”. The versions have different modulations and Armaan’s careful renditions revealed his versatility.
“Kharabayu boy bege” and Pankaj Kumar Mallik’s reimagination of it, “Pawan chale zor”, saw Armaan’s voice in full bloom. Anil Biswas beautifully used “Madhu gandhe bhora” as an inspiration for “Mere chanchal naina”. The tune and the tempo of these songs were perfect in Armaan’s presentation. “Mono mor megher sangi”, which inspired Hemanta Mukhopadhyay to create “Mann mera udta jaye”, had Armaan perform the mixed shades of Raga Malhar with flourish.
Rajesh Roshan’s affinity towards Tagore was manifested in songs like “Bandhan khula panchhi uda” (“Pagla hawar badal dine”) and “Koi mera dil ke dwar” (“Tumi kemon kore gaan karo hey guni”). By ‘guni’, Tagore was referring to Ustad Inayat Hussain Khan, who founded the Rampur-Sahaswan gharana of which Armaan is a part. “Pagla hawar badal dine” was one of the best-rendered songs of that evening. Armaan concluded this segment with two beautiful renditions, “Jete jete ekla pathe” and “Ekoda tumi priye”, and their Hindi iterations, “Sawan ki raton mein” composed by Salil Chowdhury and “Jalte hain jiske liye” by Burman, respectively.
The Rabindrik canvas of the evening was a testament to Armaan’s passion and depth of knowledge when it comes to Rabindranath Tagore. Aparajita Chakraborty’s expertise in accompanying Armaan on the esraj was praiseworthy, as were Debashish Saha’s perfect notes on the keyboard. The artist’s final rendition was a dadra, “Rang sari gulabi chunariya”, on the request of the audience. His soulful voice elevated the ambience and showed his musical brilliance.