Banglay Biplober Gaan (Songs of revolution in Bengali)

From the mythologies and folklore that Bengalis thrive on, through their current daily existence - rebellions, movements, renaissance, protest, and reformation form the core of the Bengali spirit and identity.

Against the evils of the 'demon' that symbolize social evils, Bengali musical tradition annually invoke the magical powers of Ma Dugra during Mahalaya each year, with people cosying up in front of a radio to listen to the famous rendition of the story of the victory of truth, beauty, and sustainability against the evils hidden in minds and practices of the society.

The same spirit flows through their historical tradition from the medieval ages all the way through current politically interesting times. When Sri Chaitanya proclaimed a war against casteism, it was the same spirit that revolted against "institution"; when the Nilkar sahibs enslaved them, they revolted; when the British subjugated them, they had a whole century of movements, leadership of thought, and ultimately a renaissance.

Bengalis fought for their right to speak Bengali in Bangladesh, formed a nation based on this identity; they committed to equality of rights of the helpless and downtrodden through land reforms, and when the revolutionary became a leader and got corrupted, the same Bengali spirit put them to shame by using the same songs they once sang!

BASC members will present a historical and mythological journey into the Bengali spirit of protest and rebellion through a selection of songs, along with an audio/visual display of rare sights collected from the National Museum in Kolkata, India.

Conceived by: Dr. Tathagata (Shoumyo) Dasgupta

Script: Shatarupa Sanyal (Kolkata)

Vocal: Dayita Dutta, Maitreyee Chakraborty, Nandini Rudra Ganguly, Paula Ghosh, Saikat Chakraborty, Soumya Mukherjee

Instruments: Vijay Bhatt (Keyboard), Samar Das (Tabla)

Narration: Arundhati (Mou) Tribedi, Tathagata Dasgupta

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