1.

Introduction Malini+E Tumi Kemon Tumi

2. Tomar-o Ashime Sumana+ Anirudhha
3. More bina othhe Dance (Ahana+ Ahushi)
4. Ei sundar Sornali Dalia+ Mohua
5. Ei raat tomar amar Malini
6. Gahan kusum Dance (Arpita)
7. Tumi je amar Madhabi
8. Kahan sang kheloon holi Chorus(Dalia+Sumona)
9. Bahu manaratha Dance (Sudeshna)
10. Jhanak jhanak kanak kakon baje Madhabi
11. Kichhu khushi kichhu Dalia+ Mohua
12. Ami kon pothe+hoito tomar jonnyo Anirudhha+ Kuntal
13. Jhanak jhanak tore Dance (Sumedha+ Kalpita)
14. Coffee hauser sei adda ta Chorus
15. Zindagi kaisi Kuntal
16. Na mangu sona chandi Anirudhha
17. Laga chunri mai daag Dance(Arpita,Ananya, Deepanjana, Sonali & Sudeshna)
18. Ai mere zohar jabee Chorus+ Jethu

1. Intro

(...ador koro). Good evening, everybody. As we bid goodbye to the Devi this year and affirm all
that is true of Bengali culture, we would like to welcome you to a celebration of 3 important figures
who have shaped the turns that this culture has taken in the recent past, in the directions of music,
film, and the arts generally. These 3 figures—singer and composer Manna Dey, filmstar of
yesteryear Suchitra Sen, and film director Rituparno Ghosh have all, sadly, left us recently. (...ador
koro). The nature of the lives and achievements of these three stalwarts are vastly different. Yet,
recalling the spirit of reunion in Rituparno's film “Utsab,” where differences within a large family
are ultimately resolved at a Durga Puja, we may appreciate the range of their achievements for what
they were. We hope that you will join us enthusiastically in this humble tribute, in the form of a
music and dance programme entitled “Tomaro Ashime,” to these figures who will continue to
inspire and uplift us in times to come.

2. Tomaro Ashime

Our first performance is a well-known composition by Tagore, featured in Rituparno's adaptation of

his novel Noukadubi. The song is performed at a moment of peace and reflection in a generally
messy tale of mistaken and true lovers whose lives have been overturned by a boat wreck.

3. Mor Bina Othe

Now we bring you a dance performance of “Mor Bina Othe,” made immortal as a film song on
Suchitra Sen's lips in the film Datta, based on a Sarat Chandra novel. Suchitra is most often
remembered as one half of the most successful romantic pair on the Bengali screen with Uttam
Kumar, having acted in at least half of her 60 films with him. But thanks to her peerless majesty and
grace, she could absolutely hold her own in films without Uttam too.

4. Ei Sundar Swarnali

The Queen of Hearts was not the only kind of role Suchitra Sen excelled at. She could also reveal
the depth of characters whose lives must go beyond the limits of Bengali bhadralok respectability.
In the next song, “Ei Sundar Swarnali Sandhyay,” we may remember the relaxed face of a
successful doctor, happy in new-found love, in a song that is all too short before a pregnancy
outside marriage wrecks Suchitra's life and forces her into becoming a heroic survivor.

5. Ei Raat Tomar Amar (Nandita)

Surely part of Suchitra's majesty has to do with her mysterious and elusive personality, which, in
recent times, we may know from her public identity as a recluse in Calcutta, who religiously
shunned the eye of the media. But in fact she boasted this aura in her film life, like in Dweep Jele
Jai, which features in our next song. In the film, Suchitra makes an entry in a gloomy and dark
hospital corridor, almost in silhouette, but her dropdead looks shine through the simple saree and
the lack of obvious make-up.

6. Gahan Kusume (Nandita)

The next dance is performed from Rituparno's film Abohoman, a film that is all about “Moments,”
just like film director Aniket and his son Apratim within the film recognise. In this song from
Tagore's Bhanusingh Thakurer Padabali, fans will recognise precisely that power of the shifting
moment that marks Rituparno as a master-storyteller. The song is juxtaposed along 3 settings in the
film, as we see the character Shikha changing from an object of the director Aniket's scorn into his
wife's young protégé into the director's future mistress, playing the glamorous 19th century theatre
actress Nati Binodini.

7. Tumi Je Amar

In the next song we present, first, the immortal “Tumi Je Amar” from the film Harano Sur, where
Suchitra Sen once again brings to life the private tragedies in the life of a successful doctor, whose
lover suffers a catastrophic memory loss. In this all-time Uttam-Suchitra hit, the song's melody
performs a key role in engineering the couple's ultimate reunion and happiness.

8. Kahan Sang Kheloon Holi

In the dance you saw from Abohoman, the humble Shikha turns into the mythical “Srimati” or
Radha, beloved of Lord Krishna. This theme from Vaishnava poetry infuses the next dance, based
upon a song with lyrics in Brajabuli penned by Rituparno himself, a move surely inspired by
Tagore's recreation of a lost language and culture. Here, in Radha's fruitless quest for her lover on
the festive occasion of Holi, Rituparno suits the traditional theme to the daring subject of gay lovers
in the film Memories in March—bringing in a subject that unfortunately earned him the title
“Porno” at many a Kolkata “rocker adda.”

9. Bahu Manaratha

The next dance, based on the song based on “Bahu Manuratha,” is another gem from the film
Memories in March. As a prelude, we present to you a few lines of dialogue between Radha and her
close friend, a cowherdess like herself, from Tagore's Bhanusingh Thakurer Padabali. Here, Lord
Krishna remains elusive as ever to those who love him without end.

হহহহহ হহহ হহহহহহ হহহহহ, হহহহহ হহহহহহ

হহহহহ
হহহহহহহহ হহহ হহহ হহ হহহহ,
হহহহহ হহহহহ, হহহ, হহহহ হহহহ হহ,
হহহহ হ
হহহহ হহ হ হহহ হহহহ হহহহ,
হহহ হহহ হহহ হহহহ হ
হহহহ হ হহহহহহ
হহহহ হহ হ হহহ হহহহ হ
 হহ হহহ, হহহ হহ, হহহহহ হহহহহ– হহ হহহ, হহ হহহহহহহহ
হহহহহহহহহ হহহহ হহহহ– (হহ হহ হহহ, হহহ হহহ হহহহ হ)
হহহ হহ হহহ হহ হহহহহহ, হহহ হহহহহহহহহহহ,
হহহহহ হহহহহ হহহহহ হহহ, হহহহহহহহহহহ হহহহ হহ হ

10. Jhanak Jhanak Kanak Kankon Baje

The next song we bring you, “Jhanak Jhanak Kanak Kankan Baje” is also an Uttam-Suchitra
number. This is from the film Indrani, where Suchitra depicts the modern, emancipated woman,
whose professional success leads to an insecure spouse's jealousy, resulting in painful
misunderstandings within the couple.

11. Kichu Khushu Kichu Nesha

Few can forget the adventurous double roles that Suchitra performed with élan, like that of the rich
twin and the poor twin separated at birth in Smritituku Thak. Here is a lively song that Suchitra
performs at a piano in the film.

12. Ami Kon Pothe+ Hoyto Tomari Jonyo

An appreciation of Manna Dey remains incomplete without considering his genius for rendering
funny situations, which we present in the first song we bring to you next. In the film Chhoddobeshi,
Manna Dey was the voice of Uttam Kumar. Here in the first song, Uttam conceals his relationship
with his wife Madhabi in public, confusing everybody else and creating a ridiculous comedy of
errors.
In such songs, Manna Dey's voice may be said to be like glass, as he conveys characters
and atmospheres with total precision. In “Hoyto Tomari Jonyo” from Teen Bhubaner Paare, Dey's
melodies make us fully believe in the strong and silent Soumitra's love-blinded stares at co-star
Tanuja.

13. Jhanak Jhanak Tori Baje

We now move on to the versatility of Manna Dey, whose talent for mastering the difficult and the
new enlivens the songs he performed with classical or semi-classical roots. Trained by well-known
Ustads himself, Manna Dey was an excellent voice for the melancholy Raj Kumar, swaying to the
tinkle of the anklets of his dancing girls in the song “Jhanak jhanak tori baje” in the film Mere
Huzoor.

14. Coffee House (Nandita)

From romantic numbers we now move on to memories that some of us might have from our college
days, yes indeed, those hours of intellectual conversation and kobiraji cutlets in Calcutta's College
Street. The unforgettable “Coffee House-er Shei Adda” expresses all too well Manna Dey's
brilliance at communicating tragicomic sentiment.

15. Zindagi Kaisi Hai Paheli

The next song we bring you is once again tragicomic in tone, expressing the courage with which
true heroes go about their daily business. This is rendered wonderfully by Manna Dey in “Zindagi
Kaisi Hai Paheli.” We may be reminded of Rajesh Khanna as Anand, the protagonist, dying of
cancer but entertaining children on a sea beach, as he cheerfully throws up balloons into the air.
16. Na Mangoon Sona Chandi

From serious issues of life and death, we now move on to Manna Dey expressing tsunamis of
emotion through a teenaged Rishi Kapoor from the film Bobby about starstruck young love, in a
film titled after the charismatic Dimple Kapadia.

17. Laga Chunari Mein Daag

With equal facility Manna Dey lent his voice to Raj Kapoor in the film Dil Hi To Tai, mimicking
the elderly maestro Khan Sahib.
When we hear the lyrics of this song today, it does seem absurd to think that a little spot on
a chunari—a cloth that is meant to cover a woman's modesty, whatever that may mean—should call
for an entire song about being embarrassed to be seen in public. Especially in the wake of the recent
protests at Jadavpur University, many of us are conscious that it is not victims of sexual harassment
or molestation who are at fault, but the people who don't respect their individuality and right to
move freely in public space. Who knows, perhaps Manna Dey was thinking along the same lines
half a century ago, because the song is performed in a comical situation, where the maestro is just
copying the themes and rhythms of an older world. He's not asking us to swear by them.

18. Ai Meri Zohra Jabeen (Nandita)

The last choral song we performed you was a meditation on the losses that time inevitably brings.
But Manna Dey was equally capable of capturing those moments of celebration that that never fade
with time. In the film tellingly named Waqt, Manna Dey delivers an ode to the never-fading beauty
of a middle-aged wife, whose husband promises her more wealth and prosperity for the future. On
this note of well-being we end this show, hoping that you have enjoyed this small tribute to three
towering figures of Bengali art and culture.