Music-loving Calcuttans have got used to a special way of welcoming the Pujas — a night-long soiree ending at the crack of dawn on Mahalaya. Vodafone Aagomoni, partnered by t2, is one of the most “looked forward to” events on the city’s cultural calendar and the 14th edition at a packed Kala Mandir on Monday evening was no different. The curtains went up with Sharmila Tagore lighting the inaugural lamp and a team of 18 dhaakis drumming up the aagomoni beat. t2 brings vignettes of the magical night...

The “original Didi” Usha Uthup took the stage by storm with her super-energetic performance. “I love you Calcutta. Amar sari ta bhalo?” she asked, as the crowd chorused a big “yes!” Beginning with I Believe in Music, Usha moved on to her signature numbers Dum maro dum, Didi didi go, Oori oori baba, Doston se pyar kiya, Senorita and Rambha ho. The audience requested for Darling and the lady obliged. A folk song, Bankurar mati ke pronam kori diney dupure, also made it to her playlist.

 

 

Amit Kumar took the listeners on a trip down memory lane with Kishore Kumar hits from the ’70s and ’80s. It was a tribute to mark the singer’s 85th birth anniversary. Yaad aa rahi hai, Dilbar mere, Roz roz aankhon taley and Ghungroo ki tarah drew the loudest cheers. Amit Kumar was accompanied by his brother Sumit Kumar and singer Suswati Mallik (with whom he performed the duet Keh do ki tum ho meri warna).

 

 

 

Anchors for the evening: Satinath Mukhopadhyay and Madhumanti Maitra.

Nachiketa Chakraborty started off with Tumi ashbe bole and worked the crowd with one hit after another — Dekhe ja Anirban, Briddhashram, Jokhon somoy thomke daray, Nilanjana and Shey chhilo tokhon unish. He also sang a Tagore song Amaro porano jaha chay. When the audience broke into thunderous applause, Nachiketa said: “This is why this is my city, this is why I love Calcutta so much!”

Sharmila Tagore teamed up with the musical duo — Sourendra Mullick on piano and Soumyojit Das on vocals — for a musical interpretation of Mahishasur Mardini. The veteran actress narrated the different ways in which authors have depicted woman power — from Mrinal in Rabindranath Tagore’s Strir Patra to Lucy from Wordsworth’s Lucy poems, Swami Vivekananda’s description of the mother goddess in his poem Kali The Mother to Jibanananda Das’s Banalata Sen — in between songs like Bajlo tomar alor benu, Sundari Radhe, Mera kuch saamaan, Tilana, Chaudhvin ka chand ho and Ami jamini tumi shashi hey.

 

 

 

Violinist Pallab Bandopadhyay, a student of Pandit VG Jog, was the evening’s first performer. “I feel blessed to have been invited to Vodafone Aagomoni,” said Pallab, before playing a short light-classical composition, setting the mood for the night-long melody trip.

 

 

This event is not just a Vodafone property anymore. It has become a Calcutta property as so many people look forward to it every year. I am one of them and I love the energy and enthusiasm throughout the night. - Sundeep Bhutoria

Some of my favourite musicians, like Gino Banks, Rakesh Chaurasia and Purbayan Chatterjee, are performing here. They make a lethal combination. - Raja Narayan Deb

This is my third year at Vodafone Aagomoni. Last year I had liked Jolly Mukherjee. I am a great fan of Usha Uthup. So this year I came for her performance. - Sukanya Mullick

The passion Calcuttans have for culture and music is noteworthy. The making of the Durga pratima was particularly interesting to me - Atul Bhalla

Gino Banks on drums, Purbayan Chatterjee on sitar, Suchismita Das on vocals and Satyajit Talwalkar on tabla presented Bolly Raaga, an amalgamation of Bollywood, rock ’’ roll, Indian classical and jazz. “We are colleagues and friends and we play together in various combinations. Sometimes I play with Gino, and Rakesh will play with somebody else.

Though it is called Bolly Raaga, Bolly could also stand for Bombay... the way we look at music and the various genres of music, and Bollywood is just a part of that,” said Purbayan. The son of legendary flautist Hariprasad Chaurasia, Rakesh could “sense that the expectations from the audience here were very high”. He says he takes it positively because that keeps one on the edge and on one’s toes. Gino, son of Louiz Banks, said: “It is always great to play in Calcutta because my dad is from Calcutta.”

Fusion band Karma, featuring (L-R) Raghav Chatterjee and Karthick Das Baul on vocals, Subhen Chatterjee on tabla and percussion, and Somnath Roy on ghatam, put up a riveting show. The team began with the chant Gurur Brahma Gurur Vishnu and went on to present compositions in Raag Durga and Raag Hansadhwani. Karthick Das Baul performed Dhonnyo dhonnyo boli tare and Kano mayar tori bao go. Kumartuli artist Amar Pal worked on a Durga idol placed at the back of the stage. Starting from scratch, he decked out the image as the soiree progressed and by midnight, a resplendent Durga stood in the background, bringing alive the spirit of Vodafone Aagomoni.

 

Vodafone Aagomoni is one of Vodafone’s special initiatives to engage and touch the lives and hearts of customers in Bengal. We are delighted to see such enthusiastic participation year after year in the biggest Mahalaya brand property in the country —  Anand Sahai, business head, Calcutta & West Bengal Circles, Vodafone East Ltd

 

I liked Sharmila Tagore’s performance. I love Raghav’s songs a lot. So my family brought me to the show and I am enjoying despite having a pacemaker in my heart —  Rekha Mukherjee

I have come here for Usha Uthup, Sharmila Tagore and Amit Kumar. It’s a fabulous evening and the list of artistes is amazing. Usha is my hot favourite—  Malika Varma

This is an amazing show! I found Bolly Raaga very good. I learn classical music, so the jamming session between the musicians in Bolly Raaga impressed me a lot —   Ujjayini Nandy

Text: Sibendu Das and Malancha Dasgupta. Pictures: Anindya Shankar Ray