BY JYOTHSNA HEGDE
Atlanta, GA, July 11, 2024: On June 21, 2024, as the world celebrated Fête de la Musique a.k.a. Music Day, Make Music Day, or World Music Day, Atlanta’s Dr. Raktim Sen paid tribute to music with his Bengali composition, Ora Khelbe Kothay (Where will they play). Vocals by Ar. Indranil Sen (ArIneel) (Dr. Sen’s brother) only made the composition all too special.
Dedicated to Dr. Sen’s grandchild ‘Ashu’, and all the children of the world’, with lyrics, backup vocals & music direction by Dr. Raktim Sen, Ora Khelbe Kothay was penned back in the early 1970s while Dr. Sen was an undergraduate Engineering student.
On a narrow balcony they stand
Gazing at the city grand.
If they lean a little too far,
It may end in a sudden spar.
Forbidden are they to step outside.
Danger lurks on every street.
Kidnappers and speeding cars,
Make their world feel incomplete
Read a few lines (translated to English by Munmun Sen). Highlighting one of the unfortunate side effects of urbanization, which includes a lack of open spaces and a world that seems to get more dangerous by the day, Dr. Sen delves into the mindset of a child who has no lush green spaces to play.
So what prompted him to pen these lyrics back in the 70s that seem more relevant now? “Kolkata (then Calcutta) was going through rapid urbanization… The famous CMDA (Calcutta Metropolitan Development Authority) seemed to have undertaken multiple projects to widen roads, and every vacant land and pond seemed to be the target for multistoried buildings,” Dr. Sen recalls. “This is a lot worse now. The land is no more, so the old buildings are now targets. Roads are even wider with multiple layers of flyovers. So I thought the song is still relevant!”
Song & Video Credits
Vocal: Ar. Indranil Sen (ArIneel)
Lyrics, Backup Vocals & Music Direction: Dr. Raktim Sen
Vocal Dubbing: Gaanbajna Musik Garage, Kolkata, India
Music Production, Arrangement, Programming & Mixing: Dr. Raktim Sen at Raktim Sen Music Lab, Atlanta, USA
Mastering: Rik Basu at Treble Clef Studios, Kolkata, India
Animation, VFX & Video Editing: Dr. Raktim Sen
Images: brgfx on Freepik; Canva AI Image Generator; Arkodeep Sen with Midjourney AI
Subtitles (English) provided by Munmun Sen
Watch on
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7k2_77KAnE
Listen on:
Spotify: https://shorturl.at/711ia
Amazon Music: https://shorturl.at/L19Wt
Apple Music: https://shorturl.at/ZeXV3
JioSaavn: https://shorturl.at/Nq7vx
Gaana: https://shorturl.at/Pn33A
Wynk: https://wynk.in/u/GZBoFCS1L
Hungama: https://shorturl.at/SkMYz
Youtube Music: https://shorturl.at/nnRjP
History of Music Day:
The first all-day musical celebration on the day of the summer solstice was originated by Jack Lang, then Minister of Culture of France, as well as by Maurice Fleuret; it was celebrated in Paris in 1982. Music Day later became celebrated in 120 countries around the world.
About Dr. Rakim Sen:
Dr. Sen is a technologist and data scientist with over 40 years of experience working for multinational companies in India and the United States. He is also a multifaceted artist. He is a composer, lyricist, orchestral arranger and playwright with several original songs and stage productions to his credit. He is the Theatrical Director of Atlanta Theater Workshop, Inc. and a Spotify-verified artist.
Dr. Sen holds a Ph.D. in Industrial
Management and MS in Industrial Management from Clemson University, SC, He also
has a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Electronics & Telecommunications
Engineering from Indian Institute of Engineering, Science and Technology. Now
retired, he the serves on the board of a nonprofit organization serving the
underserved communities in the field of education and technology.
