| Told by | Sri Debaprosad Dey |
| Obtained by | Rajeswary Ganguly Banerjee |
| Date | 28th October,2016 |
| Place | S.A.P. Lab, Department of Instrumental Music, Rabindra Bharati University, B.T. Road Campus. |
| About the speaker | Renowned Harmonium Player who accompanied many music stalwarts in various Classical Music Conferences. |
| Tags | Kheyal, Thumri, Accompaniment, Benaras Gharana, Girija Devi, 2000, 2001, Dadra, Chaiti, Kajri, Gayeki, Swara, Harmonium, Sarengi, Avartan, Purnima Chowdhury, Chaudhury, 2001, 2013, Jodhpurpark, Madhusudan Mancha, Tabla, Ballygunj, Mrignayani,Khambaj, Thumri |
| Language | Bengali |
Sri Debaprosad Dey speaks:
Verbatim:
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Verbatim: Dr. Suranjita Paul
Translation:
I have accompanied with kheyal many times though I have realised that the audience loved my accompaniment more with Thumri rather than Kheyal. I want to share my experience with two artists of BenarasGharana. In my early years of performances I have accompanied VidushiGirija Debi several times. She generally preferred to perform kheyal at the beginning of her performances. It was almost 15-20 years ago. She used to sing khayal first and then go for thumri, dadra, chaiti, kajri and other semi classical forms in the Concerts which was a specialization of BenerasGharana. She had a very unique voice, though sheused to avoid variations and embellishments those were commonly applied in Thumrirecitals, but on a sudden she often rendered some beautiful variations with hercontrolled gayekiwhich turned the whole recital into a new level. She always allowed her accompanists a fair chance to perform. She gave equal importance to harmonium and sarangi. She always granted one full abartan(one time circle) for harmonium, another for sarangiand then she would take one full avartan for herself. During her later performances sheusually allowed her disciplesto sing one whole avartan as she could not sing continuously because of her age. But giving a chance to her accompanists to express themselves independently in the concerts between her singings was a regular event since her initial days of performances.It was her style. So, I got enough space during accompanying her. During her performances when she rendered I used to follow her, and then sheused to give me clues to play on my own. I used to play freely but I had always kept her style in mind.
After Girija Devi when Purnima Choudhury came to Kolkata, I became her regular accompanist till her last breath. It was almost10 to 12 years. She was also from Beneras gharana. If it is back calculated then the time must be 2001 or 2002. Sometimes I played with both of them during that time period. Though both of them were from Benaras gharana still Purnimadi’s style was different from Girija Devi. Her style of singing was little bit swift moving but she had established her signature style so fascinatingly that not only the connoisseurs but also the masses couldenjoy the renditions. She encouraged me lot. We used to travel together and formed a strong bond. She sometimes took Sarangi as an accompanying instrument. Once we were performing in Madhusudan Mancha where she had not taken Sarengi. There she gave me the opportunity to play at the beginning and then she started to sing. Sometimes she would openly comment in between the rendition that if I played so nicely then audiences might not listen to her any more.She used to joke a lot.
Once in a programme in Ballygunge where my wife was present she was singing a thumri on Khambaj raga named Mrignayani. Suddenly, she stopped and said that Debubhai is in a jovial mood as his Mrignayani is present right here and then pointed at my wife. Such was her sense of humour.
Translated by: Arundhati Banerjee
Picture Courtesy: Google
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C47DS3vm-Ao
Edited & Designed: Dr.Suranjita Paul
Data processed at SAP-DRS Lab, Department of Instrumental Music, Rabindra Bharati University.