Bidaydwar Kholo

Indrani Bhattacharya and Kabir Suman
Bhavna; Rs 40

Do we remember the unfathomable pall of gloom of Ananta sagar majhe while contemplating the ?Byronic dark mood? of Keha karo mon bujhe na ? keeping in mind that both were composed when Tagore was only 20, asks Kabir Suman in his prologue to Indrani Bhattacharya?s new album. Suman invites us to approach the Tagore numbers as ?intimate journal? of a young genius responding to diverse stimuli. An affected diction ? outclassing the AIR announcers ? may be an irritant but Suman, the musicologist, compensates by deft handling of the script?s demands, sometimes linking the sombre mood of Poorvi with Ghate bose achhi anmana, sometimes contrasting the call of eternity in Tagore?s Ke jabi pare with Shakti Chattopadhyay?s refusal to pay heed in Jete pari kintu kena jabo. Indrani is an avid learner in the Tagore genre, showing plenty of blossoming.Worth a listen, if not two.

Chokher Aloye

Srabani Sen
Sound Wing; Rs 40

A finely nuanced performance and certainly the one for your headphone. The opening number ? Chokher aloy dekhechhilem ? immediately colours your imagination in multilayered hues and the absorption is sustained through a thoughtfully planned sequence of songs, graduating from one mood to another, all linked in an ascending graph of self-realisation. Srabani?s voice is satin-smooth and with the grains inducing a sensuous ring around it, its appeal is unmistakable.

When Srabani says, Amaar ekti katha banshi jane, you find her searching a confidant in you. When she improvises, as she does with Jagate anandajagne, slowing down the tempo, the effect is effortless. The only aberration is the excess of electronic sounds played as accompaniment because Rabindrasangeet is ultimately a shedding of excess in favour of introspection.