Durga Puja is best ushered in with the right kind of music and the Manicktala Chaltabagan Lohapatty Durga Puja did just that. On October 6 at ITC Sonar, they hosted their event Manicktalla Chaltabagan Lohapatty Durga Puja Dhakutsav presented in association with the Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre and t2, with the launch of Bickram Ghosh’s Aaj Baja Tui Dhaak, a Puja celebration song centred around the iconic sound of the dhaak. The song features the percussionist along with names like Amit Kumar, Hariharan, Mahalaxmi Iyer, Shaan, Sona Mohapatra and Zubeen Garg. The song has been released in both Bengali and Hindi in order to spread the celebration nationwide.

The launch started with a welcome speech by Gouri Basu, the director of EZCC, followed by lighting of the lamp. After a few words were exchanged by the artistes, the official music video of the title track Aaj Baja Tui Dhaak was released. The musicians put up a performance of the song as well and even proceeded to play dhaak by the end of it, making for a super fun event.

After lighting the lamp, (l-r) Ashok Jaiswal, president of Manicktalla Chaltabagan Lohapatty Durga Puja Committee, Sourendro Mullick and Soumyajit Das, Shaan, Bickram Ghosh, Amit Kumar, Hariharan, Mahalakshmi Iyer and Sundeep Bhutoria, chairman of Manicktalla Chaltabagan Lohapatty Durga Puja Committee, posed for a group click

A troupe from Odisha called Sankha Badon opened the performances, followed by Baul singers

The event came to an end with a dhunuchi dance performance

The event came to an end with a dhunuchi dance performance they were there: Fashion designer Abhishek Dutta was dressed in an ethnic red outfit. “Bickramda’s release has got an array of remarkable musicians who have inspired all of us over the years. Since this is a Puja special, the connect of the dhaak makes it interesting,” he said.

They were there

Mahua Chatterjee, with Nilanjanaa Sengupta, and Esha Dutta

Jaya Seal Ghosh was present at the event to support husband Bickram Ghosh for his launch

The event came to an end with a dhunuchi dance performance they were there: Fashion designer Abhishek Dutta was dressed in an ethnic red outfit. “Bickramda’s release has got an array of remarkable musicians who have inspired all of us over the years. Since this is a Puja special, the connect of the dhaak makes it interesting,” he said.

Film-maker Subhrajit Mitra

Musical duo Sourendro-Soumyajit, who have previously been associated with the event, dropped in for the celebration. “As musicians, we always look forward to people like Bickram Ghosh because they inspire us. It makes us very proud to see all these musicians present for Dhakutsav,” they said.

Mahalakshmi Iyer and Zubeen Garg sang as Hariharan jammed away on the dhaak

t2 caught a fun moment shared between Bickram Ghosh and Amit Kumar

Saswata Chatterjee tried his hand at the dhaak.

Pictures: B. Halder