Bollywood classical moments with Avijit Sarkar and Srijani Dan when time stood still

Pic Courtesy Sam Guha

By Manju Mittal

On the evening of Saturday May 13, heart of Western Sydney’s Parramatta suburb came alive with an evening of classical moments by Avijit Sarkar and Srijani Dan.

The event ”˜classical songs from Bollywood’ was held at Riverside theatre and organised by ”˜Nautanki theatre’. Listening to music depends a lot on the environment in which you experience it. The warmth of an intimate live concert with musicians sitting close as we listeners sit near them in an intimate cosy auditorium was a unique experience of its kind.

Music is a universal language which helps connect to heritage and culture and hence classical music is a mixture of musical genres of different regions that reflects the diversity of India. It ranges from the pure classical forms of Dhrupad and Khayal to lighter classical forms of Tarana, Tappa, Thumri, Dadra and folk music.

Nautanki team Reema Gillani, Sunny Singh and Madhu Das

The show started bang on time. The gracious Reema Gillani was the emcee for the evening as she welcomed the audience and introduced Avijit Sarkar and Srijani Dan. Avijit Sarkar is a talented singer who knows the art of mesmerizing. Apart from being a noted singer musician and director of Natraj Academy he is a painter, writer, poet, actor and editor of e-magazine “The Mind Creative”. Avijit has devoted many of his concerts to charity and fund raising for many worthwhile causes in Australia.

Srijani Dan who hails from Kolkota, is a born artist with a compelling combination of talent & training. She has recorded for a few series of devotional songs for Sathya Sai Organisation in India and also recorded a few private albums and recordings for many Bengali TV channels in Kolkata. She has done more than hundred concerts in Sydney. Recently Srijani won Colors Singing Megastar Australia competition. Srijani’s subtle command on the grammar of the Raga, the melodic structures the rhythmic disciplines and the distinctive technique of voice with its demands makes it a pleasant experience for the audience to hear her.

Avijit kicked off the classical musical evening with a very soothing rendition of ”˜Mohe bhul gaye sawariya’ raga ”˜Bhairav followed by ”˜Mero Allah Meherbaan’. Avijit also included ”˜Zindgi dene wale sun’ raga ”˜Bhopali’and ”˜Laage re nain tumse’ in his versatile voice. He warmed up the audience with humorous stories of each song.

It was insurmountable when Srijani sang ”˜O Sajna’, ”˜Tu jahan jahan chalega’. With each song number she played harmonium and engaged and captivated the audience who were totally mesmerised. Srijani also included hit songs of Lata such as ”˜Naino mein badra chhaye’ raga ”˜Bhimpalasi’, ”˜Kuhu kuhu bole koyella’, ”˜Tu hi re’, ”˜Lag ja gale’, ”˜Ek Radha ek Meera’, ”˜Bole re papihara’ and many more.

Above: Debjani Guha  on keboard. Below: Program  Presenter Neel Bannerjee of Nautanki Theatre, excited at the evening’s success  

The evening was a treat for the music connoisseurs when a professional singer Avijit rendered ”˜Chandan sa badan’, ”˜Madhuban mein radhika’, ”˜Dil jalta hai to jalne de’ and ”˜Laga chunri mein daag’.  Highlight of the show was finale song ”˜Mere dholna’ by Srijani Dan, the voice of Srijani did fitting justice to the song of Shreya Ghoshal.

Sanjeev Raja played  side instruments with  Abhijit Dan on Tabla, Sadiq Rehmani on guitar and Venketesh Sritharan on flute

The concert was divided into two sections, first part featured pure classical songs and second dedicated to hit classical songs from Bollywood films. Accompanying the singers were, very talented Abhijit Dan on the tabla, Debjani Guha played keyboard skilfully, talented singer Sadiq Rehmani on guitar, Venkatesh Sritharan played the flute brilliantly and Sanjeev Raja on the side effect instrument.

Sydney’s two talented singers Avijit and Srijani and musicians had the audience completely mesmerised. Audience applauded each and every song and enjoyed the evening thoroughly. Presenters of the event Neel Bannerjee and Reema Gillani thanked audience and supporters for continued support in making the evening memorable one. ”˜Nautanki theatre’ gave Sydney a fantastic unforgettable evening.

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