Bonosree Sengupta performs on the final day of the 144th Club Day celebrations of Union Club and Library in Ranchi on Sunday. Picture by Prashant Mitra

Ranchi, Dec. 14: If it was a toast to young and local talents on the first two days, the concluding day saw a celebration of old music being offered by a master from the yesteryear.

For the residents of Ranchi, it was indeed a dream come true when Bonosree Sengupta regaled them with all-time Bengali hits from the seventies and eighties today. The singer had been invited by the Union Club and Library to perform on the final day of its 144th Club Day celebrations.

The club had once been the focal point of cultural activities, hosting regular state-wide drama competitions and providing a platform to great masters from Bengal and other states. However, after a lull of some years, the club made its presence felt all over again by showcasing the great singer today before the Bengali-speaking population.

As such, the Plaza Cinema Hall on the club premises, the venue of the show, was packed with members and guests.

The audience was left spellbound as Sengupta picked up songs from her extensive collection and sang one after the other.

Such is the singer’s passion for music that she made sure that the audience shared her respect for it. She even made sure that no one disturbed the ambience while the show was on, even going to the extent of asking a gentleman if he had any problems as he rose to leave the hall in the middle of the programme.

“The songs, words and even the lyrics get disturbed if there are too many musical hands playing. Hence, I have brought with me the minimum of accompaniments,” Sengupta said.

“I love songs. I live and breathe music,” she said, as she displayed her prowess with her melodious voice. However, the great singer, a contemporary of Bengali legends such as Hemant Mukherjee, Sandhya Mukhopadhyay and Manna De, lamented that today’s Tollywood did not have space for her.

“It has been a long time that I have not got an invitation to sing in modern cinema. However, I continue to sing for the thousands of people, who have been my strong critics for many years and who love to hear my songs,” she said.