A mesmerizing event of Bengali folk music in East London

A spectacular event of Bengali heart-perforating folk music and colourful folk dance mesmerised the audience of East London on last Sunday (19 July 2015). The event happened at Rich Mix from 12 noon to 5pm. ‘the event was truly educational’ said British Ambassador to Peru and Ex-British Ambassador to Bangladesh Mr Anwar Choudhury who were among the audience along with number of local media and cultural activists. In a brief discussion before the concert, Dada Satya Paramananda, a vaishnavist and a best-selling author from Norway, expounded the humanist aspects of Vaishnavism and its theosophical facts along with the biography of Sri-Chaitanya, the remarkable social reformer of 15th Century from Bengali origin who pioneered a new meaning into Vaishnavism, Indian spirituality and mysticism .
Tagore singer Imtiaz Ahmed highlighted on the influence of Vaishnavism in Bengali music and literature as a whole and specially Tagore’s writing and thought process.
T M Ahmed Kaysher, well-known Bengali poet and music connoisseur, lucidly explained the musical terminologies and translated the lyrics of each song for non-Bengali audience while anchoring the event.
The event featured prominent Bengali folk singers that include Himangshu Goswami, Gouri Chowdhury, Hashi Rani, Porosh Moni, Amith Dey, Baul M Hussain and his team as well as Bharathanatyam artist Ishita Bhattachariya, Dhamail artist Sohel Ahmed in folk dance and Sayem F Jahan in Tabla accompaniment. Jalal, one of the top-rated flutist from Bangladesh had a brief appearance with Baul M Hussain and his team’s performance.