It all kicked off in 2014 with a mission to dig deep into India’s cultural roots and bring its indigenous music and dance to the forefront. The late folk maestro and researcher Kalika Prasad Bhattacharya, along with his band Dohar, dreamt up Sahaj Parav – The Root Music Festival as a space for voices rarely heard. Singer Lopamudra Mitra soon came on board, adding her signature energy to the mix. Years later, even after hurdles, including Kalika Prasad’s untimely passing, the team keeps the flame alive, championing artistes and sounds that deserve the spotlight.
As Kolkata gears up for the eighth edition of Sahaj Parav, which kickstarts today, we talk to curators Rajib Das, the lead vocalist of Dohar, and Lopamudra, who tell us that the curation is a year-long process. “We had always wanted to bring to the fore unsung musical heroes, not just from our state, but the whole country, and sometimes, globally too. So throughout the year, we keep looking for them. Sometimes other artistes share information; sometimes we find them. And this year is no different,” shares Rajib.
The festival will begin with an amalgamation of folk pieces like Dhaak from Murshidabad, a Jhumur group, a Bihu troupe, Srikhol, the Mukha dance troupe from Dinajpur, Katwa’s Ron-Pa Gajon and Bangla’r Nariswar-Tulika Mondal and the Tumpa Barman duo.
What we found the most interesting in the line-up is that of day two, with Kirtan by Parvin Sultana, pieces by Palestinian violinist Akram Abdulfattah and a closing performance by the new-generation, experimental music ensemble Nimad.
Day three will feature Lakkhan Das Baul with his baul songs and Manipur’s Thingombrojen Singh and Team with Mihun-The Pulse, showcasing Manipuri instrumental music, songs and dance. Parvathy Das Baul had been performing at Sahaj Parav even before people knew her, and she is closing this year’s edition with a duet performance with Pralhad Singh Tipaniya.
“But it isn’t just Parvathy; even Mame Khan performed at Sahaj Parav, long before his big commercial collaborations happened,” Lopamudra said. “Even Siddi Goma, a troupe of dancers of the African Siddi community, who are settled in Gujarat, had performed in the festival last year. Kolkata had not heard of them before. So you can understand the variation that we try to introduce the people of Kolkata to,” Rajib adds.
Being established performers, organising a festival like Root Music Festival must be a cakewalk, we ask. “Absolutely not,” says Rajib. “Getting like-minded sponsors who are willing to fund an event like this is rare. And we are quite tired of explaining what their return of investment (ROI) would be,” he added. “This isn’t a corporate/mass event where you can guarantee footfall. We go for sponsorship meetings ourselves, and since this is not our forte, even following up with a sponsor feels like a mammoth task,” says Lopamudra.
We wer also pretty inquisitive to find out if there are clashes of ideas. “Never has it happened before,” Lopamudra says. “Each member of Dohar respects me and my ideas immensely, because at the end of the day, our goal is the same—the betterment of our culture, which goes a very long way,” she adds. “And the way folk music and indigenous art forms are losing relevance, scope, and stage (in terms of music), we definitely had to join hands to keep Sahaj Parav running,” Rajib says.
While Bengalis are known to be culturally-forward, educated, and well-read across India, the reality looks a little different to the duo. We asked both the curators what’s going wrong. “I keep saying it everywhere nowadays that we Bengalis have learnt to remain oblivious. We learn about new cultures and adapt to them by forgetting our own, and that is really problematic,” Rajib rues. “And as I said earlier, the way many of these communities used to earn their livelihood, showcasing their native art and culture, is slowly giving up on them, just because it isn’t a source of income anymore. As a result, we end up losing all these brilliant art forms and artiste communities,” he adds. Echoing his thoughts is Lopamudra, who sums it up, “What I really want to add here is that Bengalis are stuck in reels!”
Inauguration: February 6, 3 pm onwards, At Indian MuseumCourtyard. Entry free
INR 499 onwards. February 7-8. 5 pm onwards. At GD Birla Sabhaghar
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