Ektu na choraley aar sanskriti ki korey hoy

so finally we held our annual extravaganza Sanskriti '09 in tru style.

as i entered the Grand Hall of Al Falaj Hotel i was greeted by a place ready for a show. the stage and sound system had been set up, the ambiance created, great vinyl visuals spread across walls and seating arrangements looked neat. A block of pansy pink chairs complimented the baby blue colored plastic chairs as well... so we were all set.

people started trooping in as time progressed in all their finery. each trying to out dazzle the other. the green room was a hub activity and the kids getting decked up for their finale. Quite a few members including me were stupid enough to wear the Alumni T's. others back stabbed by wearing what they felt and the excuses were many. from the banal to the absurd. The participants could be possibly be excused as they were in a pre determined uniform but a few like shanatonu and sanjoy did get into their Alumni T's after the program. Others did not feel it important.

The show finally did start with a very well orchestrated opening song. " Alok er ei jhorna dharay dhuiyey dao.. The President gave a short but bland speech. Apart from the fact it was barely audible it also warranted some major editing and fine tunings. Jayeeta played her role to near perfection. But then came the first goof up. The Chief Guest was presented a bouquet with all our love but in total darkness. Possibly our love outshines the darkness or who ever was in charge of lights must have messed up big time.

then came a series of in-house programs. songs dances et all. after a long long time i did see an in-house program executed with such levels of finesse. the chorus sang in great co-ordinated tune. You could have actually requested them to sing again such was a resounding effect. The kids just peaked at the right moment . not a step out of place not a wrong move by any errant kid. though the gaps between the dancers in Kacher churi was a glaring eye-sore, but on the whole it deserves the highest level of salutation. in the same song when the kids fell in line for a open lotus formation the lights dimmed and by the time the lights re-energized the formation was history. a great synchronization lost to clarity by some faulty light
play.

Our website which we were tom-toming with great publicity went online officially and then by the time if could start happening on the giant screen, the curtains opened mysteriously exposing a group of musicians tuning their instruments. a clap followed signalling the website launching. This was tragic. sanjoy spent nights awake getting this in place and awaiting a grand unveiling and suddenly it was rudely cut short by the curtains which decided to part open. Sanjoy was obviously disturbed and was murmuring choicest expletives which i would refrain from posting as it would be too damn unparliamentary.

with a hall occupancy strength of nearly 1000, we had at peak almost 80% occupancy which itself is a feat and starting almost bang on time will go down in history as the impossible achieved. well you have to thank the guy whose voice over commenced the program. he did his part bang on time.

the interval followed and chaos as well.. would shubahmita take 10 more minutes or 10minutes as asked for 5 minutes ago? a lot of permutations were worked out and the 10 minute break was cut down by a few minutes.

Shubahmita took stage, and slowly within an hour people started trooping out. I am given to understand that a lot of people are going back to native land but not all. it again goes to prove that a good singer need not necessarily be a great crowd singer. i did sit for about an hour listening on and off to her soft nasal voice with high pitched spikes, and understood as to why slowly people were getting ready to be on the move. Shubahmita may be a very accomplished singer and a great voice and may be the top draw, but ashor jomatey parey nee... Songs in a good voice but that's all.

she is no legend. and she does not have the inborn inputs in her to be one. so if she is adamant on not singing any songs but hers her road show is going to end very soon. she may be a good playback singer and recording discs but that's it. in an interactive program she just cant get the crowd with her. she has to learn to lean on popular songs by legends of yest-er-years if she needs to survive in this dog-eat-bitch world.

a very plain and placid program. no foot tapping music or even no mesmerising soul stirring numbers or enchanting classical mood created. just another program in her list and some moolah in her bank account.

the brilliance of our in-house program was far far better and miles ahead. i am not demeaning Shubamita, she must be a good singer but not a program jomanor material. and in a barowari program that is what counts.