Shyam Sundar Jewellers hosted an exhibition and talk show in memory of Salil Chowdhury

The three day exhibition and talk show was held at Gorky Sadan, Kolkata.

The inaugural ceremony of the event was held on Sep 5, in the presence of the maestro’s family Sabita Chowdhury, Antara Chowdhury and Sanjay Chowdhury.

Besides, there were stalwarts like Haimanti Shukla, Pt Tanmoy Bose, Surojit Chatterjee, Srijato, Joy Sarkar, Banasree Sengupta and Kalyan Sen Bharat.

All the singers and the musicians turned the inauguration into a melodious evening, singing and improvising on different songs and music compositions of Salil Chowdhury, starting from “purano din purano mon” to “ranar”.

Talking about her husband, wife Sabita Chowdhury recollected, ”Salil Chowdhury was a very kind-hearted person, who was not only a remarkable artist but a man, very much involved with the well being of the society.”

“When I was taught music in my childhood, I never knew Bengali, it is only under the guidance of my husband that I have learnt it, so perfectly,"she added.

Speaking on the occasion, Kalyan Sen Bharat, his student said, ”This event is not only an initiative to celebrate the glory and music but also to bring forth the unknown facets of the master's compositions, so that the forthcoming generation of music makers can learn from it.”

“Salil Chowdhury took music very seriously and put equal emphasis even on the interludes and preludes. Besides grooming me on music, he taught me how to be an artist," he added.

The event also witnessed the launch of a book “Ek ghuchcho chabbi”, which comprised a bunch of poetry composed by Salil Chowdhury, during his life time.

Writer Srijato read a poem from the book and said, "Salil Chowdhury was a rare person who had the potential of predicting certain situations for the future, through his compositions."

Pt Tanmoy Bose who had worked with the maestro said, "I don’t believe in Brahma, Bishnu, Maheshwar as my God, but rather I offer my devotion to legends like Salil Chowdhury and Satyajit Ray.”

He added, "These legendary people can never die, they stay forever above us, guiding us on the right path.”

The second day saw a performance by Kalyan Sen Bharat and his troupe and the third day was devoted to a special musical presentation by those musicians who used to accompany Salil Chowdhury during his performances.

The pictorial exhibition provided glimpses into the maestro’s life and times from “The Child Prodigy and Early Influences”, “The people’s Musician and the IPTA Years” and “The Popular Composer” to the “Musafir” and his “Suhana Safar”, ”The Master Music Conductor” and “The Departure That Never Was”.

Among the memorabilia showcased were records and covers, musical instruments, awards and other treasures and objects of personal wear and use.

Rupak Saha, Managing Director of Shyam Sundar Jewellers said, "Bengal and Bengalis have two personalities from the world of music of whom they are immensely proud - first Rabindranath Tagore and second Salil Chowdhury. Thus we want this program to be a huge success and a cultural event to be recognized widely by every music lover.”

(Reporting by Aninnya Sarkar)