Bangladeshi singers Anupama Mukthi and Samorjit Roy captivated audiences with timeless songs by legendary Indian musicians Lata Mangeshkar, Kishore Kumar and Manna Dey at a special musical evening organised by the Indian High Commission in Bangladesh.
Titled A Musical Evening with Legends: A Tribute to Lata Mangeshkar, Kishore Kumar and Manna Dey, the programme took place at 5pm on 15 October at the Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre on Park Road in Baridhara, Dhaka.
Bangladeshi television director, playwright and presenter Kaushik Shankar Das hosted the event. Pranshu Sharma, the Director of Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre, delivered the welcome address. Acting Indian High Commissioner Pawankumar Badhe attended as the chief guest.
After his welcome address, Sharma invited Badhe to speak. The acting high commissioner welcomed the audience and expressed his delight at the musical tribute to the three celebrated singers.
“I am extremely happy to welcome everyone to this musical tribute to three of India’s famous singers,” Badhe said. “These extraordinary artists left behind an unforgettable musical heritage. They received some of India’s highest civilian honours at different times and also won the love of millions of music fans. This special programme features some of their songs, performed by two Bangladeshi singers.”
Samorjit Roy opened the musical performances with songs made famous by Manna Dey and Kishore Kumar. Anupama Mukthi then took the stage to perform popular songs by Lata Mangeshkar. The two singers later joined forces for several duets.
Their performances of Ke Prothom Kachhe Eshechhi and Tere Bina Zindagi particularly delighted the audience.
Reflecting on the experience, Mukthi said she had been feeling slightly unwell during the programme. She apologised to the audience several times between songs but tried her best to perform each one well.
“My health was a little poor, so I kept apologising between songs. Even so, I tried to sing every song as well as I could. I am sincerely grateful to the acting Indian high commissioner, the second secretary and everyone involved in organising the event,” she said.
Roy said he particularly enjoyed performing at programmes of this kind because they brought together attentive listeners who genuinely appreciated the music.
“I especially enjoy singing at events like this because they bring together audiences who listen carefully and enjoy the music. My sincere thanks to Shantanu Dada and everyone involved in organising the programme. I hope to perform even better at similar events in the future,” he said.
