The posters screamed the name of Stebin Ben but it was Sreeradha Bandyopadhyay who held forth for most of the evening. Either way, the Salt Lake Maitri Sangha audience was in for a melodious treat after a pandemic-induced gap of four years.
The show was held as part of the Kali puja celebrations but the venue – instead of inside BF Park – was on the road in front of the Gupta Brothers shop in the swimming pool area, this year.
The banners all over the township had announced Bollywood singer Stebin Ben to be taking stage but the audience was in for a surprise when they saw Sreeradha instead.
“I haven’t heard of the Bollywood singer slated to perform today but my daughter pulled me along,” said Mouli Basak when Sreeradha took stage at around 7.45pm. “She, as always, is an absolute delight to listen to. I don’t know about the next half of the show, but this half I’m enjoying,” said the CE Block resident.
Sreeradha presented Bengali and Hindi numbers for an hour and a half. “I am excited to be performing for you all,” said the resident of CE Block that is in the same ward as the swimming pool. “I shall sing something for everyone so that all can enjoy. The first song is dedicated to Ma Kali,” she said before starting the Nazrulgeeti Kalo meyer payer tolay. She went on to sing many other popular songs like Ganga gangar tarange, Lag ja galey, Tum se mil ke and Bhalobasha chhara aar achhe ki.
But her surprise appearance made the audience question whether Stebin was running late or if Sreeradha was a last-minute addition. “I am a big fan of Sreeradha’s and I wonder why her name was not on the banners. I was reluctant to come today as I’ve never heard of Stebin. But no sooner did my friend inform me of Sreeradha’s show than I came running,” said Mallika Nag of AG Block.
“Maitri Sangha focuses on cultural events. These last few years we were forced to keep celebrations on a smaller scale and this is the first time after 2019 that we could go all out and invite a singer from Bollywood,” said a committee member.
Stebin steps in
Finally at around 9.15pm Stebin Ben took the stage in kurta-pajama.
Though his name was not known to many, he soon won the audience’s heart with his voice and music. He sang popular numbers like Tum rang sharbaton ka, Sanu ek pal chain na aave, Aankhen khuli ho ya ho band and more.
“I am a fan of TV actor Shaheer Sheikh, and one of his music videos — Barish ban jaa — was sung by Stebin Ben. That’s how came to know about him. He has a lovely voice and I’ve heard other songs by him too. It’s great to hear him live. I’m enjoying it,” said second year B.Com student, Priya Mehta, who had dragged two friends along.
“Priya literally forced us to come today but we’re having a good time,” said her friend Naina Harsha, an AL Block resident. Every year we are used to waiting for the gala musical night at Maitri Sangha around Diwali. We’ve seen many star performers here. Hope they get someone big next year again.”
One of the organisers admitted that the star attraction this year was a step down from the Sunidhi Chauhans and Neeti Mohans who have performed for the club. “Then again, we are still reviving from the effects of the pandemic. We wanted to test waters with a lesser-known Bollywood singer before going all out again,” he said.