Bengal's Guthrie

Most people outside Bengal would not have heard of Suman Chatterjee (or Kabir Suman). I first heard about him at a Bengali family friend's place where few of his songs were sung and most people present seemed to be his fans. That evening, no one sang Rabindra Sangeet and there were only requests to "sing Shumon!".

The guy in question is a virtuoso trained in Indian and Western classical music and writes, composes, sings and plays the guitar for all his songs. In fact, he is said to have started the modern Bengali music movement influencing several other artistes and bands (including Anjan Dutta, the Bela Bose guy).

I quite liked what I heard that evening (Haal chhedo na and Tomaake Chaai are two names I remember) and was curious enough to borrow a few tapes. Most of his songs are philosophical or touch upon current affairs (some of his recent songs are about Nandigram and Rizwanur) and very contemporary. He also comes off as a typical liberal social activist type because of his political inclinations. But that apart, his music is worth checking out. I'm not sure if it would be available here in Pune but ask your closest Bengali friend for a tape or two of Kabir Suman. Or download.