It was a lovely evening of music, dance and poetry at the Lokhandwala Garden to celebrate Poila Baishakh and Rabindra Jayanti; two very special days for Bengalis. Many Bengalis from Andheri to Kandivali gathered here to be a part of this 'Bonghomie'!
It's been 16 years since I last performed Rabindrasangeet on stage, and I thoroughly enjoyed singing. Also, I wore a Dhakai saree, a first-time ever! This evening was special as I have missed not singing all these years, plus I performed with my father for the first time!
My father, Ranjan Mitra, was the first Bengali, if not the first Indian, to have cut western music albums (in 33 rpm) with HMV back in the early 70's. He was a regular performer back in the day, and sang with many prominent musicians including Louis Banks! Besides singing he loves playing the harmonica. It was wonderful accompanying him on stage today!
Another high this evening - my daughter Anushka sang 'tata-tata' the moment she heard 'Mamo Chitte Niti Nritte'! We were pleasantly surprised as to how she instantly recognised the song that she occasionally heard at home, and she is only 20 months!
One of the youngest in the audience!
It'll be great if all 3 of us perform together one day. It's not very common to see 3 generations performing together!