Kolkata, Sept. 25 -- As the sun set and rain lashed the city, a musical evening at the sprawling campus of Sister Nivedita University (SNU) in New Town reached its crescendo with renowned Baul performer and spiritual teacher Parvathy Das Baul taking the audience on a spiritually stirring musical journey with her evocative Baul strains on Friday.

Day 1 of the celebration of Indian classical and folk music, presented by the Dover Lane Music Conference in association with SNU and Techno India Group, drew a packed audience on Friday. The evening began with the felicitation of Rajarhat-New Town MLA Piyush Kanodia by Satyam Roychowdhury, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Techno India Group and Chancellor of SNU, in the presence of Prof (Dr) Dhrubajyoti Chattopadhyay, Pro-Chancellor, SNU; Prof Anupam Basu, Vice-Chancellor, SNU; and members of the Dover Lane Music Conference.

Kanodia acknowledging the stature and legacy of Dover Lane, expressed his happiness over its collaboration with SNU, which falls in his constituency. "The earlier generation protected Indian classical music and now it is for the young generation to learn, listen, respect, protect and feel proud of Indian culture," he said. Nupur Mukherjee, Chairman, Dover Lane, thanked Roychowdhury for his support for the music platform.

The evening saw a solo harmonium recital by Suvendu Banerjee, accompanied on tabla by Arunava Mukherjee. A disciple of Pandit Deb Kumar Banerjee, the doyen of the Gaya Gharana, Suvendu recalled his first performance at Dover Lane in 1996.

The next act belonged to Parvathy Baul. With an ektara in her hand, a duggi and multiple metallic anklets accentuating her movements, the storyteller and Baul singer held the audience spellbound with her music and performance. Parvathy pointed out that despite Dover Lane's 75-year musical journey, this was the first time that Baul music had found a place on its platform. "Dover Lane's logo is that of Baul. Baul is Bengal's music and its culture. So, performing Baul at Dover Lane is a significant moment," she said.

Day 2, on Saturday, will feature a Mohan Veena recital by Joydeep Mukherjee of SNU. Students and faculty members of the university will present 'Raage Anuraage', while a special SNU classical dance presentation, 'Unity in Diversity', will celebrate the country's diverse cultural traditions.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.