The illustrious history of Bangal urban music or rather, the music of Calcutta dates back to the early nineteenth century, when it reached its first formal and popular articulation, in the hands of Ramnidhi Gupta. Till this day his songs often referred to as Nidhubabur Toppa (Nidhubabu’s Toppa), are associated with what can be labeled Purano Kolkatar Gaan ( the songs of Old Calcutta). 

Bangla urban music was further enriched by numerous songs from the Bengali stage and also thrived in the many minor genres like Baithaki or Kabigann sung mainly on festive occasions, till the later half of the nineteenth century, which saw the rise of musical geniuses like Rabindranath Thakur (Tagore) and Dwijendralal Roy. While Rabindranath left us the vibrant legacy of Rabindra-Sangeet, Roy has been best remembered for his patriotic compositions, but both of them pioneered the use of western musical styles alongside folk elements in Bangla songs. 

In 1930s saw the beginning of the long tradition of Bangla Adhunik Gaan (Bengali Modern Songs), which continued uninterrupted well into the seventies. The rise of the cult of Uttam Kumar and Suchitra Sen and their romantic movies strengthened this particular genre where love was the be all of existence, all expression. Performance and rendition-wise they were mostly solo efforts where the individual singer held sway and commanded the fanatic respect of many . Radio also played its part in the popularity of singers and there songs. 

During this phase of modern Bangla music, the one notable exception was the music of  Salil Chowdhury, arguably the single most important influence on later urban folk. Chowdhury’s songs, composed in the wake of the left-wing cultural activism of the IPTA (Indian people’s theater association) in the 1940s and 50s constituted a new sub-genre  of Ganna - Sangeet (public songs).   

Salil Chowdhury’s achievement lies not only in his brilliant reworking of traditional folk tunes to convey explosive political messages but perhaps, more importantly in his extensive use of the back-up orchestra that set the stage for the emergence of band music. His innovative use of percussion and enhanced orchestration was to become the ubiquitous feather of the musical arrangements of band music later.

By the late 70s, the idyllic, feel good world of Bangla Adhunik music had outlived its course and successive generations growing up in the age of a globalized modernity fraught with newer complexities began to search for an alternative musical idiom, which could then attempt to voice their aspirations and failures, could speak of contemporary socio-cultural conditions, a music which they could try and identify with.

A new band called Moheener Ghoraguli (Moheen’s Horses) – naming themselves in an allusion to the prominent Bangla modernist poet Jibananda Das)probably made the first attempt to articulate this in their musical endeavors when they brought out their first record – Sangbigna Pakhikul o Kolkata Bishayak ( Ruffled feathers and of Kolkata) in 1977.

But those were the golden years of Bengali music. Those were the heydays of Hemanta Mukherjee, Shyamal Mitra, Manabendra Mukherjee, Utpala Sen, Nirmala Misra and many others of their likes. It was also the age of puritans. Neither the people nor the media was prepared to accept such an experiment. “mohiner Ghoraguli” and its founder Gautam Chattopadhyay just faded into oblivion.

As India entered the phase of privatization and globalization in the nineties, private channels became a part of national and local radio and television. 1992 saw the emergence of satellite channel in India   and global music was no longer ‘out there’ but became a part of Bengali drawing room conversation .                                                                         

The golden era of Bengali music, the melody had all but one with the wind. People were lamenting the absence of melody in Bengali music, and the shortage of good lyrics almost sounded the death-knell for Bengali music.

The arrival of Suman Chattopadhyay in the early 1990s revived the trend of experimental Bangla modern songs – a single instrument and powerful lyrics. The success of Suman’s songs saw others following in his footsteps and emulating his oeuvre. Newcomers like Nachiketa Chakrabarti and Anjan Dutta and veterans like Pratul Mukhopadhyay and Ranjan Prasad emboldened by Suman’s endeavors took up their guitar once again.

Amidst all these national invasions which definitely sought to homogenize popular feelings and sentiments, Bangla rock emerged as the voice of the Bengali youth, speaking about their trials and tribulations, about their daily battles won and lost, and most of all creating a space called Kolkata and an identity other than and beyond the national one.

Now is the time for Bands. In kolkata, today there are 20-odd Bangla bands with albums to their credit. With bands like Bhoomi, Chandrabindoo, Krosswindz, Cactus , the new-defunct Parash Pather and fossils registering album sales in multiple of 20000 copies., the deduction is clear the Bengalis are rocking.

These bands were earlier known as ‘Rock” groups and sang mostly Western numbers. Whatever Bengali songs they used to sing were either translations or adaptations. But now these bands sing Bengali songs. Their music has also become more versatile. Some specialize in Indi-pop, some in modern, some in folk. A decade earlier, this would have been unthinkable. These bands are in a different way reviving the golden days of Bengali music.

It is a significant achievement that Bhoomi of all the bands, has been successful in expanding the audience of Bangla Band’s urban music beyond the college campus and youth circuits into the older, middle-aged listeners. Though everyday city like remains one of the main inspirations behind their music, the band maintains  that there was no conscious attempt to sound political at all.

Bhoomi , which started out in 1999 has today been created with reviving folk music in Bengal. “Our Popularity is not just with youngsters, Bhoomi’s songs are enjoyed by a wide cross section of people”, says Surojit, who feels Bhoomi is the only band that has conquered urban as well as rural Bengal. “We churn out numbers that strike a chord as we speak the language of the people “ says Abhijit Ghosh, bassist and entertainer of the group.

Fanatics of Bangla bands have swamped the critics. Says a member of Cactus, the band that played a central role in a mainstream Bengali film starring Moon Moon and Raima Sen ' What hands have taught audiences here is that music does not always have to be the solo singer –oriented. We have gifted them the concept of guitarists, bassists and drummers.'

It is a gift that is being accepted with glee. Bangla bands have already occupied half of the top ten slots in music World’s weekly music charts.

Clearly, Bengali music is not just Rabindra- Sangeet any more, it rock too !

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