Venue: Alexandra Palace, London
Date: March 19, 2010
Time: 6.17pm
Girl: “Mamma, what’s this going on? I want to go home and watch TV.”
Mother: “Look there on stage, that’s the greatest actor we have ever had and that lady in red is the most graceful actress we have ever seen.”
DAY 1
Welcome to London Ananda Utsav — for the Bengali mom in ‘Bilet’ to give her daughter a taste of true-blue Bangaliana.
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| Sharmila Tagore and Soumitra Chatterjee |
He & she
The gates of the Great Hall at the grand Alexandra Palace in north-east London opened only around 6, but the magic was unmissable. Not of P.C. Sorcar’s abra cadabra, but of the “greatest actor” and “graceful actress”: Soumitra Chatterjee and Sharmila Tagore.
The Apur Sansar pair first met over a cup of tea at the Phoenix Bar of the Alexandra Palace foyer. Damp and dreary London suddenly seemed bright and beautiful.
Their smiles said it all. “I am meeting Soha after so long,” said Soumitra. Soha, sitting next to mom in a green chiffon sari, smiled the widest. The three would soon take the stage for the inaugural ceremony of Anandabazar Patrika presents P.C. Chandra Jewellers London Ananda Utsav, in association with Kingfisher Airlines. “Today we are being witness to an event that has no precedence and one that is making history,” said
Soumitra. Sharmila added: “I am delighted to be here and very happy that this cultural weekend of plays, music and dance is happening here in London.”
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| Dona Ganguly |
The performances
The three-day Bengali weekend in London started with a classical dance presentation to the song Ananda dhara. Performed by Dona Ganguly, Mom Ganguly and troupe, it was a fusion of Odissi and Mohiniattam. The 500-strong Day One audience looked as mesmerised by Mrs Ganguly’s footwork as they would have been by Mr Ganguly’s at Lords 14 years ago. In fact, we overheard someone in the audience ask ing if the man too was here. He wasn’t (Mandira Bedi on ITV4 is telling Londoners what Sourav KKR Ganguly is up to back home), but Miss Ganguly was very much there, watching her mother perform. If six actors played Bob Dylan in I’m Not There, three actors played Soumitra Chatterjee in Tritiyo Anko Atoeb on Friday. The only dif ference? While Dylan himself didn’t face the camera for the film, Soumitra played one of the three versions of himself on stage. The other two were played by Dwijen Bandopadhyay and Poulomi Bose. Written and direct ed by Soumitra, it was a riveting dis play of sardonic humour, efficiently executed by the three actors. Babul Supriyo was the little touch of Bollywood for the first evening. But got the loudest applause, from Jibone ki pabo naa to Pherari mon.
Off-stage
The food counter and the shopping stalls were big hits. The moment the jhaal muri boxes were opened, no one wasted a second. So what if it cost a pound — that’s around Rs 70 now — and tasted more like a salad. The sin garas were a draw too but the Bengali sweets — from dorbesh to ‘Lady Canning’ — were the blockbuster items. You could also help yourself to “a traditional Bengali meal” for eight pounds. The shopping enclosure had the usual mix of Bengali retail thera py. From P.C. Chandra’s dia monds to Kanishka’s saris, it was a dream desti nation for the Bangali bou in
Britain. And if the root strings tugged at the heart a bit too strong, there was a whole lot of realty deals to buy that brand new flat back in Calcutta.
Day 2
The Great Hall at the Alexandra Palace is so huge that if it’s not filled it shows. Friday being a working day in London, 500-odd had turned up. But Saturday afternoon presented a very different picture. A very pretty picture. Hundreds and hundreds had filled up the Great Hall. It was a carnival mood — to watch the stars, gorge on the food, browse at the shopping stalls and even perform. Yes, besides the big names all the way from back home, there was local talent on show over the weekend. Under the umbrella of Central Bengal Organisation, kids and adults from London put up colourful and energetic song and dance, punctuating the star performances.
Dutt’s the way
Usha Uthup was supposed to start proceedings on Day Two. But it was Anjan Dutt and Co. who went in first. According to host Mir someone in the audience supposedly whispered: “Na re Ushadi-r boyosh hoye gechhe… ekhon orokomy dekhte!” Lol! Anjan Dutt and the Friends of Fusion led by son Neel were supposed to re-perform the Pujor Nandini musical play which they had staged at Kala Mandir a few months back. But Bhalobashar Nandini had to be stifled with not all members of Dutt’s cast being able to make it to London. The actor-writer-director-musician tweaked his old play Priyo Bondhu for the afternoon and he and Churni Ganguly read out letters two lovers had written to each other. It may have looked like Tumhari Amrita but those who still cherish their cassette of Priyo Bondhu, know where it all started. So even as Anjan and Churni (in skull cap, glasses and muffler) poured their emotions through the microphone, Neel and gang sang a mix of popular songs — Shing nei tobu naam tar shingho to Tears in heaven, Rhododendron to Ranjana.
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| Usha Uthup |
Sharmila and Soha were the perfect picks for a show like Robi O Radha. The shortened adaptation of Rabindranath Tagore’s Bhanushingher Padabali saw Soha reading out the English portions of the narration while Sharmila narrated the Bengali lines. Those who couldn’t follow each phrase could just sit and stare at ma and meye.
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| Anjan Dutt and Churni Ganguly |
Next came Usha Uthup. With the ‘Ko’ bindi in place, the lady who “did it all in a Kanjeevaram sari” had the Alexandra Palace audience jumping in their seats and dancing in the aisles. From Dum maro dum to Ramba ho, Kolkata kolkata to Kali teri choti hai, Usha was in electric form. Saare jahaan se achha was her fitting finale.
Sreeradha Bandopadhyay later hit the nostalgia notes with Ei shundor sharnali shondhay and more.
Magic hour
And then there was magic! P.C. Sorcar (Jr.) and his 30-strong team took over the stage and had everyone hypnotised. “I have performed here before but never has any Bengali organisation been involved. This is such a special evening,” said the Indrajal man, flanked by all the Sorcar ladies. Wife Jayshree and elder daughter Maneka had their own acts while Moubani and Mumtaz went dance, dance.
Day 3
Super Sunday at Alexandra Palace had band music and baul gaan, magic show and Bollywood rhythms. Overheard at the end of the day: “Bas, ar ekta Durga Puja hoye gelo… ebaar protyek bochhor ashtei hobe.”
B & B
Bangla bands have always been a hit at Banga Sammelans, but the appeal of Ayub Bachchu transcends bigger barriers. The Bangladesh-based musician, called the Greatest Guitarist of Asia by his fans, had people coming in from Manchester and Cardiff just to hear his fingers caress the strings. He and his band LRB (Love Runs Blind) had the Sunday afternoon audience in a tizzy with their chartbusters like Ek akasher tara and Shei tumi keno eto ochena holey. “It feels like home,” smiled Bachchu, sporting his trademark shades.
Amitava Bhattacharya’s banglanatak.com then put together some good baul talent for an hour of soul-searching strains. Arjun Khyapa, Ghulam Fakir, Gopen Debnath and Shashtidas Baul were “ethnomagic going global”.
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| P.C. Sorcar (Jr) casts a spell with wife Jayashree and daughters Mumtaz, Maneka and Moubani by his side |
Abracadabra
More than a month back a ship full of his props and items had hit the British shores. Even on the morning of his shows, pigeons and chicken were being chased around. Whether at the hotel in Wembley or at the venue in Alexandra Palace, you couldn’t miss his 30-odd hands walking around in uniform. All carrying duffel bags: “P.C. Sorcar Jr from India”.
In an abridged version of his original Indrajal show, Sorcar showcased some of his most famous tricks on the London stage, first on Saturday and then on Sunday. From the Great Indian Basket Trick to the Cannon Illusion, he had everyone guessing throughout the couple of hours. The Racros Law was still very much in vogue — the Water of India magic, which is shown after almost every trick while the next trick is being readied behind the curtains. P.C. was not the only magical Sorcar on stage. His daughter Maneka showed a couple of tricks calling it “dramagic” — a mix of drama and magic. “I am the ninth generation,” she proudly announced, while her father insisted on being called P.C. Sorcar (Continuation). Even his wife Jayshree waved her wand and cut the husband in two pieces, only to bring him together in a jiffy. “She is a greater magician than me… after all she vanishes all my money,” joked Sorcar.
The other two Sorcars, Moubani and Mumtaz did a dance number each and the entire family came together in the end lip-syncing to a bizarre song that went “Bye bye good bye”!
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| Alka Yagnik |
Play back
They took their time to get on stage but by the time they were done, it was paisa vasool from Kumar Sanu and Alka Yagnik. Sanu particularly seemed to have a point to prove. “Ei je chole eshechhi, shob gaan gaibo… 17,000 gaana gaya hai, aaj sab gaake jaoonga.” From Aashiqui to Dhadkan, 1942: A Love Story to Kaho Naa… Pyaar Hai, Sanu belted out the chartbusters. But it wasn’t only Hindi. “Aami money praney ekhono Bangali,” he said and sang Priyotoma mone rekho and Amar shilpi tumi. Alka Yagnik said: “It’s rare to have a receptive audience like this… it’s like a vitamin kick for us,” she said. Out flowed the songs, from Kuch Kuch Hota Hai to Tere Naam, from Saajan to Chalte Chalte, Judaai to Zakhm. The real charmer? Jhaal legechhe aamar jhaal legechhe!
Once they were done with their individual chartbusters — Yeh kaali kaali aankhen for Sanu and Ek do teen for Alka — the two came together for the duets like Churake dil mera and Dheere dheere pyaar ko badhana hai. No one, repeat no one, was sitting, some just swaying to the grooves, others bending their backs a bit more.
The first-ever London Ananda Utsav couldn’t have ended with a bigger bang and with the three days of music and dance, theatre and magic, eating and shopping, the connection had been made.
