Pianist Sourendro Mullick and vocalist Soumyojit Das charmed the audience on December 23 at Swabhumi from a beautiful two-layered stage, decked in snow, complete with a grand piano and fairy lights. The occasion was Just 10, in association with t2 — marking 10 years of the duo making music together. Snippets from the evening...
Midway through the first song, the duo were interrupted by a phone call from Usha Uthup! “Wasn’t I supposed to introduce you? Kono maane hoye!” she mock-chided Soumyojit (in picture above). After some pleading, she came on stage. “They have always tried to do something new, and something better. When it comes to music, they are truly pioneers of innovation,” said Usha, before singing Silent Night as the audience waved their mobile phone flashlights.
Sourendro welcomed Kavita Krishnamurthy on stage. “Ten years is a long time... they have grown by leaps and bounds. They were excellent when I first sang Ek ruthi si khamoshi for them in 2008,” said Kavita.
For the Bollywood section, the duo launched into a medley of Hindi classics, with Lag ja galey seamlessly flowing into Deewana hua badal and then Ina Mina Dika. “In Bollywood, composers have to face a lot of strange requests. Imagine Kishore Kumar being asked to sing this song in the style of a bhajan,” chuckled Soumyojit, singing Ina Mina Dika set to the tune of Om Jai Jagadish Hare, followed by the same song sung to the tune of the popular folk song Amaaye dubaaili re, amaaye bhashaye li rey. The playing with styles, tunes and songs drew a round of applause from the audience.
The last number from the 10 song-set list had Harsh Neotia reciting “all the five stanzas of Jana Gana Mana”. “I call them my mad younger brothers because every time they come to me they come with a mad idea, and it is quite a welcome change in my mundane life of business. I am thankful to both of them that they asked me to recite a few lines with their compositions, which started a different kind of journey for me, which has been beautiful,” said Harsh, who launched two new original compositions from the duo’s album Just 10.
(L-R) Madhu Neotia, MP Dinesh Trivedi and Jawhar Sircar launched Sourendro and Soumyojit’s new music label
S & S Music. “All of our music, including collaborations and digital releases, will be released from our label from here on!” said Soumyojit.
Father P.C. Matthew, former principal of St. Xavier’s College, was instrumental in getting the two to perform together in 2003. “In St. Xavier’s College, we cater to not just academics, but much beyond. That is how we started spotting talent. I told them to stick together and contribute to the richness of the music in Calcutta. I also asked them to compose music, and not just be satisfied with singing. I’m very proud of them as they thought of me when they were planning the concert,” he said.
In a moving tribute to Rituparno Ghosh, the duo screened a video of the late filmmaker reading poetry, interspersed with live renditions of some of the songs used in his films. “We had the rare privilege of performing with him onstage for a production that we did in GD Birla Sabhagar. Rituda has always been a guiding star to us,” said Sourendro.
WHAT THEY LOVED
“They always have a fresh and innovative take on classic songs and the way they present them is really endearing. I like the fact that they make it a point to include a real grand piano in their live performances, which adds an authentic acoustic touch to the soundscape,” said guitarist Vikramjit ‘Tuki’ Banerjee.
“They are two very talented musicians who made two hours pass like two minutes. It was a refreshing and unique repertoire... from Lakkhir panchali to Nidhu Babur toppa, it was a delightful evening packed with amazing tunes,” said Bhoomika Basumallik, a student of Heritage Institute of Technology.
Text: Debroop Basu
Pictures: Pabitra Das
