Sudipta Chanda has always had a strong inclination towards music and organising cultural events right from when he was a schoolboy. However as reality struck him as an adult he realised in order to keep these interests going, he will also need funds to facilitate them. After wearing multiple hats in this lifetime that of a journalist and a public relations expert, Sudipta is finally in a spot where he has successfully conceptualised and hosted three successful editions of the Mountain Music Festival and Kolkata Street Music Festival. We speak to Sudipta to learn more about these unique music festivals and tuneful plans for the future.
What made you curate these music festivals?
I have always believed that working on a specific field helps one master the subject eventually. Taking cue from my childhood affinity towards music, I took up music journalism and music public relations thereafter. At this point of my life, I think it is extremely important to give back some of my learnings and concepts back to society, that would further enrich and enhance musicians who are often overshadowed. It is through YouTube that I learnt of numerous mountain music festivals that are held in India and abroad, which pushed me towards curating a mountain music festival of similar kind, but not limited to any specific genre, region or language. The Mountain Music Festival conceptualised by me mainly sheds light on budding musicians looking for a platform of expression. They are often joined by revered and established artists, who join them in encouragement. The Street Music Festival on the other hand is dedicated to every sort of music practice that used to be an integral part of our daily lives at one point but is becoming extinct rapidly. This includes village singers, songs that document stories of the bygone era, ceremonial bands and bajaas, prabhat pheris and so on. Both the music festivals have turned three this year and are conducted annually.
What sort of initiatives are you taking to secure the future of these musicians?
To begin with, we are not just promoting vocalists but instrumentalists as well. Apart from this, we are continuously trying to financially aid some of the downtrodden musicians who perform on streets and travel from one place to the other frequently, to earn a living. We provided them with a one year accident insurance last year and are looking forward to arranging medical insurance this year. We also keep shifting our venues for each of the festivals so as to not make it monotonous, and also create a new space for cultural exchange every time.
What other projects are you working on currently?
We are working on original Bengali songs which will be released on YouTube. Earlier this year we launched a six-track album called Paharer Gaan, which promoted six new artists who participated in our previous Mountain Music Festival. This album was launched by musician Amit Kumar. We have also worked on an Agomoni song right ahead of the Pujas, featuring Bohurupi artists in their natural habitat, dressed up as Durga and her family. The Mountain Music Festival will be streaming on the Facebook and YouTube handles of The Dreamers, my organisation that curates these festivals this December 31.