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KABIR SUMAN and Anjan Dutt sang about urban life in Bangla and Opinion
English. But in styles that came from way beyond Bengal, to the Business
accompaniment of a prolific guitar and an occasional piano. Sport
Miscellaneous
Index
The duo sang in a classical style, blended with folk, blues and country
styles and to an audience steeped in Bengali, Rabindro Sangeet and
classical music. Now would that be disconcerting? But that was
trademark Kabir and Anjan, who sang along with Neel Dutt at the
Kolkata Blues concert in the city. The concert was neat, engaging,
and minimalist.

The hated man

Kabir's reading of Bengali orthodoxy is interesting. "I was once the
most hated man in Bengal. I wasn't the traditional Bengali Hindu. I
was wearing denim. I was singing in Bengali, but playing the guitar.
People have tried to dislodge me for over 15 years. But precisely
because I've been around so long, they've begun to accept me,
grudgingly. If the conservatives don't like your music, they'll say
you're not good enough. But I am a trained singer and my music was
successful even in cinema. How long could they say he can't sing?"
However, to the orthodox, Kabir always has a song or a raga to
remember. That is why the Tagore song and the Basant Mukhari in
the concert.

Anjan, on the other hand, has the young all the way with him, but not
their "parents". Anjan loves Blues and Country of the '50s and '60s,
evident right through the concert.

The blues and country-folk feel was much in evidence in Anjan's

vocals and guitar and the typical Bengali melodic tone too. He would
break into a chat while singing, explain a facet of life, crack a few
jokes, and sing again. In one, he said loved a Jim Reeves number so
much but couldn't play it the way Jim did, but nevertheless would go
on. And while chatting, he would keep playing the guitar.

Kabir began slowly, then heightened the tempo, rendering in a

masterly way raag Basant Mukhari, which showcased depth and
clarity in his voice. And he rendered this to accompaniment of a
guitar, and nothing seemed out of place! One of Kabir's songs was a
salute to the classical raga system of the sub-continent, particularly
the Carnatic system. "I told people how complex the Carnatic system
is, that we are performing today in a part of the country where people
know their music. I told them about the great Chowdiah," he said in
between.

This style of music at Kolkata Blues was straight, quiet, and

conversational. The lyrics were about everyday life. While drawing
from Western idiom, it took heavily from Baul, Mushedri and
Gambhira traditions of Bengal. Kabir says he uses Western
techniques, but is not a master of all. "You listened to my piano
flourishes. A listener may think I seem to know it. I don't. I am not
completely clever, but I am not a fool. I know enough to add variety.
I am a folk musician."And he draws much inspiration from Pete
Seeger, the inimitable American folk singer who has sung of wars,
civil rights, and protest movements. Pete asked Kabir: : "You will sing
anyway. Can you get people to sing?" Says Kabir: "I had to do it in an
urban milieu. It's not easy. That conviction I picked up from him."

Back to Kolkata

After working five years with the Voice of America, Kabir quit and
travelled to Nicaragua on the invitation of the Ministry of Culture.
Ernesto Cardinal requested Kabir to write on the Sandinistas'
Revolution. He wrote in Spanish with the FBI and CIA behind him all
the time. And then he wrote three books, besides plenty of music. In
Germany for eight years, Kabir learnt the guitar from Italian
Beltarami. From there he flew back to Kolkata, a city that is changing
and yet orthodox in parts. Both these facets seem to have come to
terms, somehow, in Kabir's music. That's the impression the
performance left.

G.N. PRASHANTH

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