On February 9, “One Thousand Years of Bengali Musical Tradition- a Celebration of Bangla Music” was held at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. A colorful display of men, women and children singing songs along with skillful dancers, made the evening a feast of stimulating culture, which even foreigners enjoyed. This is, so far, the largest function organized in Boston.
Bengali Music was born in the region of South Asia, which is now known as West Bengal (a state in India) and Bangladesh. In English, “Bangladesh” translates “the land of Bangla.” The land of Bengal is a delta into which the Ganges river divides and flows into the Bay of Bengal, and therefore the beauty of the rivers, sea, sky and nature are all sung passionately in Bengali songs.
The musical program, presented at MIT’s Kresge Auditorium, was composed of four segments, which narrates a thousand years of the musical tradition of Bengal. Each segment highlights distinctive phases and styles that developed in Bengali Music. Women in bright beautiful saris and men in punjabis (traditional attire) stood on stage, singing their hearts out loud.
The first segment had music from the 950-1850, songs from “Charya Geeti.” Charya Geeti is a form of traditional song based on the philosophical ruminations of the followers of Lord Buddha. During this phase Bengali music was centered in places of worship.
The second segment covered 1850-1930, the most imaginatively creative phase of Bengali music. It was in this period that Bengali music was defined. This was a phase known for the passionate outpourings of young lovers, which added a new dimension to Bengali music.
The third segment focuses on the period of 1930-1970 when “Bangla modern song” came into being. With the introduction of technologies such as the gramophone, radio,cinema and TV, Bangla music, once mainly urban, started to reach the rural populations. This was lovingly called the Shonar (Golden) period of Bangla.
The last segment covered musical genres: folk music and patriotic music.Patriotic music came about through the opposition to British Imperialism and Bangladesh’s battles and war of liberation from Pakistan (1950-1970). These songs are known as “people’s song.” On the other hand, folk song composition can be traced as far back as the 8th century AD. Bengali folk songs are categorized as emotional, secular or religious.
In between each segment, traditional dances took place. Girls from the Triveni Dance School, a well-known, Brookline based non-profit dance school, dressed in very exotic traditional costumes, did intricate and graceful mudra and footwork. They even moved their kohled eyes as they danced, emphasizing the expression of the dances. They specialize in Bharata Natyam (a sacred dance from the temples of the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu)Odissi (a dance from the temple of Jagannath in the northeastern state of Odissa), and Kuchipudi (originally from the state of Andhra Pradesh).
There was a rich display of musical instruments on hand, from the violin to the classical Indian instrument known as the sitar. Instruments, small and large, brought out the texture and creativeness of the songs. Two very important musical instruments used in all of the Bengali songs were the “tabla” and the “harmonium.” One of the organizers danced around the stage playing the harmonium during the “folk songs” segment.
The show as well attended by the press. It was broadcasted live on Bangladeshi channels like ETV and I-CHANNEL, as well some Calcuttan channels. The Boston Globe and foreign Bangladeshi newspapers like The Daily Star, Protham Alo and the Iftifak, published articles on the musical program. Several other journalists and photographers from other newspapers also went to the performance.
UMass Boston had several representatives both on stage and in the crowd. Senior Nasreen and fellow student Ikbar performed after five months of preparations. There were also several UMB students in the audience. Among them were Fritz Hyppolite of the Student Senate, SAYA Association members and Steve Osemwenkhae of the Black Student Center.
Everyone said that they enjoyed watching the show. “It was beautiful, full of aesthetic magic, rich in flavor and color, and unquestionably engaging,” said Hyppolite.
It was obvious that the organizers did not expect so many people to show up. The scheduled 20 minute break was extended to 40 minutes because so many people were waiting in line for food. The program ended late and many people left before it was over. Nonetheless, the program ended gracefully; in the last song, the singers left the stage and went to the front entrance of the auditorium singing. When the song ended, the performers were overjoyed at their success.