They love to salsa. And that Bossa Nova beat always gets them going. Meet Monojit Datta and his wife of eight years, Sreya, both of who are an intrinsic part of Calcutta?s only Latin band, The Orient Express. Every Monday night in the smoky environs of The Park?s popular watering hole, Someplace Else, you?ll find the two, along with the remaining eight members of the band, seducing the crowd with Samba and Salsa or jamming to the heady beats of Latin Jazz.

Monojit is a gifted percussionist, composer and lyricist who has since the very beginning, steered The Orient Express on the right track. For the past eight years now, the band has been doing the rounds of the local music circuit, taking their unique blend of music everywhere from college campuses and nightclubs to television shows and even Ramoji Film City for a New Year?s Eve bash about three years ago. Monojit and The Orient Express have released four albums thus far including The Night is Young, Sizzling, Colores and Bondhu Shunte Pacho, their maiden attempt to infuse some Latin magic into the Bangla market. The endeavour obviously worked for the band is now hard at work on another Bangla album which is slated for release later this year or early next year.

Adding a good measure of woman power to the band is trained classical pianist, Sreya, whose forte is the accordion. And when Sreya and Monojit are not jamming together at one of their gigs or practice sessions, they?re playing husband and wife, cherishing life?s highs and sharing its lows.

MONOJIT ON SREYA

I first met Sreya at a concert I was performing at in 1997. I remember the venue being a nightclub, and there was Sreya standing and swaying to the music bang in the middle of the crowd. I was quite happy to catch sight of her there. You see, I?d seen her on an earlier occasion but we weren?t formally introduced to each other. You can only imagine my delight then when after the concert we managed to speak to each other for the very first time!

Ours was a whirlwind courtship. We met and dated for just three months before deciding to spend the rest of our lives together. Looking back on eight years of marriage, I have to admit that there have been several high points ? the best being how well we?ve come to know each other. On my part, I?ve learned what it takes to nurture a marriage. It is doing the small things for each other that helps to foster love. It?s all about being tolerant of the other person and taking time out to listen to and understand your partner?s point of view.

Although we?re different in many ways, Sreya and I have quite a few things in common, the most obvious being our passion for music, and Latin music at that. I grew up listening to mainstream Latin music and Latin jazz. It?s not very often that one comes across someone with a similar predilection for Latin rhythms. Yet Sreya had an affinity towards the same type of music. It is this shared love for music that inspires us the most and keeps us going.

For many couples out there, working together proves a deterrent to their marriage. That?s not the case with us. Sreya is a trained classical pianist and has a very strong understanding of Latin music ? something I really appreciate and admire in her. In fact, I encouraged her to harness her talent and join the band once we got married. I believed that if we were in the same boat together professionally, we?d be able to share the same highs and lows, the same joys and rejections. Sreya felt the same way too and it wasn?t long before she was able to prove herself to be a competent member of The Orient Express.

What makes it easier sharing professional as well as personal space with Sreya is the fact that we are fast friends. And yes, it also helps that we go out of our way to give each other space. She does her own thing and I pursue my interests too. Naturally, as in every relationship, there are fall-outs, but I believe that every human being has some flaw or the other. The one that bothers me the most in anyone, including myself, is anger. So yes, I don?t like it when Sreya gets angry. Besides that single grouse ? if you can call it one ? nothing else about her really annoys me.

SREYA ON MONOJIT

Monojit and I are diametrically opposite people and I think that?s what helps to balance our relationship equation. He is a relatively serious person while I can?t help but see the funnier side of things. In fact, I always liken him to Mt Vesuvius for on those few occasions, he erupts and how! That said, however, I must say that his outbursts die down pretty fast and he?s always quick to make up.

Our very first meeting was at one of Monojit?s concerts. I remember the music he played there being remarkable. Being a musician myself, I was very impressed. So much so that after the performance, I went backstage to congratulate him ? never mind that we hadn?t been introduced. Things took off right and proper from there.

Our courtship, was for all intents and purposes, a musical one. Monojit began teaching me the claves, but funnily enough he took to showing me the ropes in a quiet, secluded spot. It wasn?t very long before my mastering the claves took a backseat and we began to be totally engrossed in each other?s company. Monojit doesn?t remember, but it was he who proposed marriage. Our courtship had all the ingredients of a Barbara Cartland romance ? fast and furious. Monojit is also quite the romantic ? and yes, he does the flowers and cards routine, when it occurs to him. After all, he?s also quite the forgetful sort.

All said and done, however, Monojit is a fine human being. And I also love the musician in him. Looking back, I was just a classical pianist with good grades. It was Monojit who assured me that I had the ability to join the band. He encouraged me all the way. And it?s not just with me, he is very helpful when it comes to other musicians as well. That?s just the type of person he is!

Photograph by Subhendu Chaki