Growing up under their mother’s musical influence, sisters Paroma and Pragya trained in Indian classical music. But as they also listened to Western music and pop boy bands, it all came together to shape their musical soundscape. Now the duo, The Dasgupta Sisters, release a new eponymous album as a tribute to their late mother, under the label Namma Music.
Their mother, Manjushree Dasgupta was a Hindustani classical singer from Kolkata who trained under Padma Vibhushan Ustaad Nisaar Hussain Khan Sahib. “She was a graded radio and television artiste which was a very prestigious thing in the '80s and ’90s,” Pragya tells us. Their fondest memories from childhood revolve around their mom practicing musical styles such as Khayal, Thumri, Dadra, Kajri, Tarana and more at home.
The four-track album aims to capture this feeling and uses four classical bandishes in the songs. The songs are titled Devotion Surrender (Raag Tilang), Sacred Love (Raag Desh), Love (Raag Chhayanat) and Love in These Times (Raag Bheempalasi). As the names suggest,themes of love and devotion stand out in the album. These are all ragas the girls learnt from their mom so they are very special and hold a dear place in their heart. The layering of classical music with modern beats and piano melodies make the songs memorable and haunting.
“Working on the album was a mixed feeling. On the one hand, we were very happy that we could do this as a small tribute for all the sacrifices our mother made for us. It was like a trip down memory lane reminiscing all those beautiful moments of going to music festivals and concerts. But it was also very emotional for us to revisit those moments without maa and to accept that she’s not amongst us anymore,” Paroma sums up.
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