Bappa’s heartfelt Odyssey

There can be no other way to start this experience, without first making an ode to the singer himself. Most concerts see their featured artists, many of whom are young perform for about 40 minutes on an average; Bappa Mazumder, who is now 52, however, showed great tenacity, endurance and passion for music by performing for three hours in his solo show.

 'Karkhana Presents: Bappa Mazumder's Odyssey', took place on 24 February and all throughout these three hours, there was not a single dull moment, nor a chord out of place.

Bappa took to the stage at around 6:30 PM, to start the main event. The audience was very energised and it was really surprising to see how the VIP section looked more filled with people than the regular section. By 7, everyone was in the zone created by the singer. 

One of the songs that made the crowd go whistling and wild was 'Tor Premete Ondho', a song which was originally sung by another musical icon of the country, James. The tunes, the melodies and every bit was just perfect and Bappa himself was just majestic singing the song. For a moment, it seemed as though he owned the song as the original master.

But this was not the start though.

He sang some of his other masterpieces at the beginning. One that particularly stood out during that time was the song 'Brishti Pore'. The song reached a massive height when it was sung during the 'Wind of Change' event by Gaan Bangla, in collaboration with multiple foreign artists and its masterful composition.

But during this show, it deviated from its familiar 'fusion' setting quite a bit. It had more of a blues touch to it with the use of more western classical instruments. And that was pretty much the theme of the entire event at KIB. The whole setting of the event was similar to one of those coffeehouses we see in classic movies. 

The crowd was loving every moment of the show. Bappa was lost in his music, pouring his heart into each song. He performed some of his famous hits like 'Shurjo Snane Chol' and 'Dhulo Pora Chithi'. It didn't take long for the entire auditorium to fall under his spell. With just a handful of songs, everyone was moving and swaying exactly as Bappa and his band led them to. It was as if the audience had become marionettes, dancing to the rhythm dictated by the musicians.

The show wasn't just all about the music though. Bappa stopped after nearly every song to interact with the audience, and it was working like a charm. The anticipation kept on building, thanks to the friendly banter. Like the time when he expressed how he mistakenly made the song 'Janalar Glass' too hard to perform in front of the crowd, just moments before masterfully recreating it with the same magic.

His live rendition of the classic Lucky Akhand song 'Aage Jodi Janitam' was absolutely magical. This is where his musical prowess and the ability to captivate the audience came together. While he started the song himself, the audience found themselves singing the lyrics, with Bappa only playing the instruments, without even being told to sing along.

Another enchanting part of the evening was when he sang a duet of 'Chokheri joley' with Masha Islam, who opened the show for Bappa earlier in the evening. Now if anyone hasn't heard a rendition of the song on female vocals, here's how to describe the whole performance - pure and unfiltered magic. The way both their voices filled the air and the way Masha followed with Bappa and the perfection of their notes were incredible.

Photo: Mehedi Hasan

Before moving onto his most iconic and sought after songs by the present audience he performed a few others like 'Kipte Bariwala'; a song which in reality as it turns out, actually made his then landlord upset a little. All of these were to warm everyone up for the final segment.

The final segment started with 'Pori', a song the audience knew by heart. While their singing along wasn't really deafening, it was still very enthusiastic. Then the segment moved on to a song that was mostly performed by the crowd, the classic 'Ami Tomakei Boley Debo'. The final song to close the show was 'Bazi', although everyone present there felt as if they could go on the whole night without stopping.

With that the 3 hour performance came to a close. Bappa Mazumder introduced and shared a heartfelt gratitude towards everyone present and his team for their hard work and dedication.

The event was well-managed. The audience size perfectly matched the seating capacity, ensuring everyone had a place to sit. For those looking for a bite or a drink, snacks and refreshments were available outside the auditorium. Despite the hustle from a wedding in the main hall downstairs making things a bit cramped and chaotic outside, it was pretty much what you'd expect in such a setting.

"I am really happy to be performing in my second solo show, and I could not be more thankful.I am also eternally grateful to those who came to attend the show and listen to the music," concluded Bappa Mazumder on the occasion