BY RAKTIM SEN

For many Bengalees, who grew up with fond memories of the golden years of Bengali Modern songs, when the likes of Hemanta Mukherjee, Shyamal Mitra, Manna Dey, Kishore Kumar, Sandhya Mukherjee, Arati Mukherjee, and Gita Dutt ruled, Bengali Band Music, or as it is popularly known as 'Bangla Band', spells culture shock. During the late seventies, the genius of Gautam Chattopadhyay put together a group named 'Mohiner Ghoraguli' to perform music of 'alternative style. 'Mohiner Ghoraguli', recognized as the first 'Bangla Band', was perhaps much ahead of its time and gradually faded away.

Fast forward to the mid-nineties - 'Bangla Band' is main stream. Last year, courtesy of Bengali Association of Greater Atlanta (BAGA) we had the popular band 'Bhoomi' perform during the Durga Puja celebrations. This year BAGA presented, perhaps the most popular and critically acclaimed band, 'Chandrabindoo' on Sunday, October 9, at Shamrock Middle School, on final day of their Durga Puja celebrations.

With several hit albums to their credit, 'Chandrabindoo' had the audience of more than 800 on their feet from the word go! Instantly, the entire gymnasium became a dance floor. Everyone was rocking to their beat. One after the other, they presented 'Duniya Dot Com', 'Juju', 'Twaker Jatno Nin', 'Hoolabila', 'Amra Bangali Jati' ' and also some softer numbers such as 'Neel' and 'Ghumiye Porho Na' (which was presented as a tribute to 'Mohiner Ghoraguli'). When the concert ended you could not find a single soul who was not satisfied.

'Chandrabindoo' wanted to be introduced as 'Chandrabindoo', the band. Never during the show did they introduce any of the band members by their names. Individually, each one of the eight-member team is a very talented and creative musician. But their synergy is in their collaboration and they recognize their strength as a group. That they could very easily switch between various musical styles, such as, rock, folk, Latin, techno and traditional, speaks volumes about their skill set. Yours truly was present as the audio engineer for the show. During the elaborate sound check what struck me most was their wanting to make sure that the lyrics come across as clearly as possible. Yes, the sounds of the base guitar, the kick drum or the keyboard- they are all important. But to ‘Chandrabindoo’, it is their lyrical quality that sets them apart. Now that I have heard them to my heart's content and more, I know why - every 'Chandrabindoo' song is a snapshot of our times.