Kolkata, 11th December, 2018: Ms Riddhi Bandopadhyay, an accomplished name in the music arena today once again captivated the audience with her newest endeavor “Nari – An Unsung Story”. The music lovers of the city experienced an enigmatic musical performance in opera style where she along with Mr Devajit Bandopadhya, Director, Academy Theatre performed some of the timeless numbers of yesteryear’s singers like Binodini, Tinkari, Prabha Devi, Molina Devi, Ketaki Dutta and Keya Chakraborty.
The program lauded the basic tone of woman empowerment as the singers of the bygone era were denied their due owing to their origins, but they kept contributing towards the ‘Puratoni’ songs of Bengal. Most of these accomplished singers from late 19th & early 20th century have come from red-light areas, though their supreme talent could not erase the slur but they left their impression on their audience. “Nari – An Unsung Story” saluted the spirit of these women.
Madhabi Mukhopadhyay, Kaushik Sen, Agnimitra Paul, Avirup Sengupta, Punam Priyam and Gulzar Hossain Ujjal from Bangladesh also performed for the occasion.
“Nari – An Unsung Story is my tribute to the indomitable spirit of womanhood which the talented yet neglected singers of yesteryears were very much known for. I have conceived this musical in an opera format mainly based on theatre songs. I believe that audience will love this. I am also working with the children from the red-light areas for the last few years. Their enthusiasm and passion for music inspires me to do more for them”, said Ms Riddhi Bandopadhyay.
The whole program was definitely a discerning testimony for the music enthusiast of Kolkata.