Ananta Dharay Nazrul at Rabindra Sadan promised to be an evening dedicated to the spirit of the revolutionary poet, Kazi Nazrul Islam, but ended up being a lacklustre tribute. Blundering anchors, chaotic stage logistics, and a loose script undermined the endeavour. However, the personal anecdotes shared by veterans offered some moments of freshness. The musical renditions lacked depth and emotional charisma. Perhaps the weight of the content seemed to bear too heavily on the lead singer, Dipa Das, who struggled to engage the audience.
Suchitra Ghosh’s “Ke nibi malika” and Das’s “Sakhi re dekh to” in Hindi were conceived as a seamless bilingual pairing. Ghosh appeared poised while Das’s delivery felt abrasive. A second attempt saw the Dhansheri Bharat Group perform “Ei ranga maatir pothe lo”, followed by Das’s Hindi version, “Banu main sang piya”, which was rendered with a screechy intensity. While Das continued to falter in her solo pieces, the duets, “Jao Meghdoot” and “Shajalo hawa kende beraye”, too suffered from a staccato delivery with the singers seeming to be out of sync.