One of the very basic tenets of Indian existence, unity in diversity, echoed through the auditorium as around 30 artists, singers, performers and poets in support of CitizenSpeakIndia lend their voice of concern during the maiden edition of “Chorus”.
The evening was aptly summed up by Parambrata Chattopadhyay who says “This was about making a statement and a political one. We have a political stand but it is not in favour or against a political party. It is a voice, unputdownable and robust that will keep rising whenever humanity is at stake.”
What followed next was a chorus with the classic medley of ‘Ek He Chilo Raja’ and ‘Halla Rajar Sena’ spontaneously weaved together on stage with Parambrata, Rupam Islam, Anupam, Satadal, Anirban, Rwitobrata and Riddhi. This was followed by all the performers coming together on stage, led by a founder member of CitizenSpeakIndia Aparna Sen. Then the National Anthem was sung loud and clear in the company of the 1500 audience at Nazrul Mancha.
Anupam Roy’s ‘Parichay’, Rupam Islam’s ‘Dogdoge Itihasher Ghaa’, Silajit’s ‘Akromon’, Gabu’s ‘Ei Muhurte’, raised the mercury inside the auditorium with their infectious presence.
Rupam Ishlam says, “We don’t want to be identified by race colour or religion. We just want to be identified as Bharatbashi. And United we can fight off the rising evil of separatism.”
The singer-composer had penned this song after the Delhi riots.
In this special occasion Aparna Sen shares, “Our stand remains the same. We stand for humanity. We stand against intolerance, violence, jingoism and bigotry in any form or under any garb. We don’t believe in the philosophy of “with us” or “against us”. We have and will always raise our voice for preserving humanity and the show of solidarity from you all inspires and motivates us to continue.”
Anupam’s song was his philosophy as he grooved: Jodi ora tomai chinte chai/ prosno kore bole tumi ke?/ Hashi mukhe jobab dio bhai/ sobar upore manush sotto/tahar upore nai.
Anirban recited his translation ‘Shob Mone Rakha Hobe’ of Amir Azir Sab Yaad Rakha Jayega to rousing applause, as did Sudipta Chakraborty’s Hindi recitation of young actor Avinash Dwivedi’s Chalo Ek Din Ke Liye Tum Hindu Ban Jaao.
Kaushik and Reshmi Sen’s recitation of Najma gave goosebumps. Equally enthralling was Riddhi-Surangana’s ‘Kachei Karo Ekkhana Hath Dhoro’. Fidler’s Green’s suave redition of Bella Ciao, was matched by the pulsating performances by Iman who sang ‘Ekdin Jara Merechilo’ or Bidipta and Satadal’s singing of Salil Choudhury’s Dheu Utche.
Rwitabrata’s letter to his grandmother and poems recited by Srijato, Srikanta Acharya or Ranjan’s Bengali version of Imagine captivated the audience unequivocally on an evening that talked of love and humanity.
