Get set for a musical treat at Bandra Fort

3 Oct 2008, 2000 hrs IST,TNN
MUMBAI: Music lovers may want to camp at Bandra Fort this weekend. The revamped heritage structure will host an Eid soiree with ghazal artistes Hariharan and Humera Channa on Saturday and, on Sunday, it will wear the colours of Bengal for the Times Durgotsav Concert. The organisers have arranged a special surprise. Swagatalakshmi Dasgupta, a professional artiste from Kolkata, comes with her signature Rabindrasangeet and Hindi playback singer Shreya Ghoshal brings her recent hits. The programme comes off at the Bandra Fort at 7 pm on Sunday and free passes are available at Planet M stores at Bandra (Rizvi House), Andheri (Shoppers' Stop, Lokhandwala, J P Road), Malad (Inorbit, S V Road), Lower Parel (Phoenix Mills) and Fort. Speaking from Kolkata, Dasgupta said she did not mind spending the Puja weekend in Mumbai as long as she could get back home for Ashtami (on Tuesday). "I have spent Durga Puja performing in Chembur and other suburbs in previous years, so this is not the first time,'' she laughed and then said: "Somehow, I am still unable to assess the Mumbai audience. They invite me time and again, of course, so I guess they like me.'' Dasgupta has steadily worked to achieve her position, having sung the entire Bhagwad Gita as well as over 2,000 verses of Tagore's Geetabitan. Her musical drama, Ramayan, which has been a personal dream she has been able to fulfil, and Ashokrenu -- her tribute to partner and mentor Ashok Sengupta -- have been appreciated over time. The other attraction at Sunday's soiree is noted playback singer Shreya Ghoshal. Both artistes will perform in sequence as they come from different schools of music. "My list includes recent film hits like Teri ore, Yeh ishq hai, Barso re megha as well as older, landmark numbers from Jism,'' Ghoshal said. Naturally, there will be a selection of Bangla songs; as she explained: "No Puja is complete without those.'' The Ghoshals lived in Rajasthan before they moved to Mumbai to nurture their daughter's musical talent. "But Navratri in western India has a very different flavour from Durga Puja as it is celebrated in West Bengal. My childhood Durga Pujas in Rajasthan were comparatively muted. But, wherever you find Bengalis, you will find Durga Puja. Never mind the scale, you will usually see adults and children enact skits or sing every evening,'' the singer said. Ghoshal's father, an engineer with the Nuclear Power Corporation of India, is quite an artist. "He is an expert at crafting the artwork for the puja pandal,'' she says. "My parents are both culturally active and they have taught me to take pride in our rituals.'' Music, of course, is the highlight. Only her professional commitments leave the 23-year-old little time with the family at Puja. "In Kolkata, the city takes a long holiday. I wish we in Mumbai did so, too,'' she said. source: times of india