[Assam] Melody from the Northeast

[Pradip Kumar Datta]

  Melody from the Northeast
[+uc('Arpita basu and peden doma bhutia')+]              Purabi Kakoty Sharma   Calcutta, July 22: Bringing out the soul in the strings is what Purabi Kakoty Sharma strives for, each time she positions the violin on her delicate shoulders. 
  The disciple of renowned violinist Pandit Sisir Kana Dhar Choudhary and vocalist Pandit Samaresh Choudhury, held her audience spellbound at the Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre in Salt Lake here this week. 
  “Classical music will never die out. It has its roots so deep in the history and tradition of the country that there will always be a section of people who will keep it alive,” she said. Her spirited performance of Raga Imon, alaap followed by bilambit and drut gat in teen taal and Raga Bhupali proved just that.
  Purabi’s musical journey began when her father presented the 12-year-old a violin. “My parents instilled in me a love of music. My father plays the tabla and sings too.”
  The Cotton College student was crunching numbers with Math, Statistics and Economics, when she cleared the entrance exam to pursue instrumental music at Rabindra Bharati University in 1994. 
  Earning a first class masters degree from RBU, Purabi was awarded a national scholarship in classical music from the Union ministry of human resource and development in 2000. She was also awarded the Young Artiste Award 2003-04 from the EZCC and the Union department of culture. A familiar face in the music circuit, Purabi is a regular on the airwaves, too.
  With Ek Pyar Ka Nagma, a recently released compilation of her rendition of Hindi film hits of the yesteryears, the petite 30-year-old proved she can straddle both worlds with the same fluidity as the notes of her violin.
  “The Northeast has always been given step-sisterly treatment. But talent hunts provided the much-needed platform. The question now is, what does a place in the sun in Mumbai do for traditional Assamese music? Zubeen Garg has set an example in that he fused elements of the prarthana and indigenous folk tunes in his soundtrack for Strings,” she said.
  Purabi, who has put in solo as well as group performances in award-winning films like Laaj and Kadamtole Krishna Nachae, has wielded the composer’s baton too. “My compositions for Stuti, an orchestra group I put together, has been well received. I try to blend Assamese folk music with the classical strain, using various indigenous instruments.”  http://telegraphindia.com/1060723/asp/northeast/story_6512437.asp
   
  Blog: http://pradip.bihu.in 

 			
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