Somlata Acharyya Chowdhury kicked off Techno India’s musical tribute to Salil Chowdhury at Science City with the popular song, “Aaj noy gungun gunjan premer”, retaining her individual style while delivering an impactful rendition of this avant-garde composition by Chowdhury. Acharyya Chowdhury managed to infuse modernity into this traditional gem. Her performance was enhanced by the eclectic sound arrangements by the musician duo, Soumyajit Das and Sourendra Mullick, who also displayed a rare montage of Chowdhury.
Durnibar Saha’s rendition of “Ranar”, a song that required mastery over a wide vocal range, was almost perfect, only stopping short of emerging as truly enchanting. In contrast, Saikat Biswas’s “Eei roko prithibir garita” was delightful, with the words hitting all the right beats of the racy groove and the background vocals giving a much-needed fillip to it. Biswas’s performance stayed with the audience long after it ended. He also doubled up as the keyboardist for the evening.
Ujjaini Mukherjee tried to combine “Aaja re pardesi” with parts from the song, “Na mono lage na”, but the amalgamation seemed forced. Lagnajita Chakraborty performed the fast-paced “Na jaane kyun” (Chhoti si Baat) and while her voice remained as steady as ever it did not reflect the rueful yearning that is characteristic of the original song. Das, who is a vocalist, sang the nostalgic “O sajna barkha bahaar aayi” with a mellowed slant towards the ragas. The actor, Parambrata Chatterjee, read the poem, “Ek guccho chabi” with his natural flair.
