The show must go on.
Singer Rajib Das who has taken over the reins of popular Bangla folk band Dohar after the tragic death of their lead vocalist Kalika Prasad Bhattacharya in a road accident on March 7 said this before performing in Ranchi on Tuesday evening.
Their performance on Bangiya Sanskritik Vidyalaya premises, HEC Sector II, organised by Basanti Durga Puja Committee, was officially the first live show since the March 7 tragedy which deprived Bengal of a talented singer and folk music ethnographer.
"Though we performed in Kolaghat (Bengal) on April 2, this is our first full-fledged programme in the real sense since that fateful day," said Rajib, who was also in the same car with band mates Niladri Roy, Sandipan Pal and Sudipta Chakraborty when the vehicle met with the accident on Durgapur Expressway, Hooghly, en route to a show.
Rajib's words may have reminded many of the iconic 1991 number "The show must go on" by British rock band Queen when singer-songwriter Freddie Mercury's days were numbered.
But, Queen members knew about Freddie's impending death. Kalika Prasad's death was a bolt from the blue for Dohar.
Sudipta, Rajib said, was still too ill to perform. Rajib apart, Dohar mates who took to the stage were singers Amit Sur and Rishi Chakaraborty, percussionists Mriganabhi Chattopadhyay and Satyajit Sarkar, flautist Rittwik Guchhait and sarinda player Niranjan Halder.
For nearly two hours from 8.30pm, they presented compositions such as Takdum takdum baje (Sachin Dev Burman), Moner manush (Lalon Fakir), Allah megh de, pani de (Abbasuddin), Jale na jaiyo (Kamrupi folk song), Chal Mini Assam jabo (Chhotanagpuri song), Batare piritir phool fute (jhumur) and Bhenge mor gharer chabi (Rabindrasangeet).
But, the affable presence of Kalika Prasad, playing the dubka and breaking into song as easily as explaining the finer points of folk to the audience, was sorely missed.
Founded in 1999, Dohar, which worked extensively to collect and preserve folk music and instruments, has performed thrice before in Ranchi.
"Some of us who were in the car are getting exhausted early," Rajib told the audience, not taking his name personally. "Please support us." The 500-strong Ranchi audience responded generously, women even going near the stage to dance to the music.
"It's nice they agreed to perform," said Sukrit Bhattacharya, Puja committee convener, adding this event was planned well in advance. "When the tragedy struck, we were doubtful if it (the event) would at all materialise."
It was an emotional moment for the audience too. "Kudos to them for trying to continue after their driving force is gone," said Tarit Roy, who listened intently to the songs. "I almost visualised Kalika standing on stage," said another music buff Chhanda Das.
