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patriotic fervour Pintu Chowdhury.

A sensitive soul, when inspired, can find expression of his own choice and calibre. The source of his inspiration, then, gradually becomes his deity or role model. Knowingly or unknowingly he worships his deity or follows the footsteps of his mentor — like the legendary Eklavya. That is how ‘isms’ and ‘gharanas’ came into being.

This theory applies to popular songs too. The cultural capital of our country boasts of numerous devotees of renowned singers like Hemant Kumar, Manabendra Mukhopadhyay, Manna Dey, and follow their emotive melodic style even in this era of rap, rock and band music.

Pintu Chowdhury follows Manna Dey, and not without reason. As he began with “Oi Mahasindhur Opaar” and moved on to “Ma, Ma-go Ma” and “Notun Prabhat” effortlessly, it was evident that the striking similarity of the voice-throw, the same easy blend of emotion and skill — all seemed to have come to Chowdhury naturally. He was at his emotive best in “Tomar Shesh Bicharer Aashay” and impressive in “Kal ka Pahiya” and “Laga Chunri Mein Daag” — both difficult numbers by all standards.

During an informal chat prior to his recital, Chowdhury revealed that by virtue of being born in an era when Tagore songs, Nazrul Geeti, Bangla Adhunik and film songs were going through their golden period, he was drawn towards their mesmerising charm instinctively. Renowned singer Pintu Bhattacharya inspired him the most initially. So much so that he was lovingly called Pintu.

“I cannot recall how this pet name became my identity in the arena of music and my real name Sujit Chowdhury took a back seat!’ he admitted plainly.

But like his mentor, Chowdhury grew up to be a diehard fan of Manna Dey. “I vividly remember those days when Pintu Bhattacharya reigned supreme. Initially, he used to sing almost all the songs originally sung by Manna Dey. Those immortal songs, expertly rendered by Pintu da, left an indelible impression on my mind and soul,” he added.

And that was how, without even realising who actually influenced him the most, he came under the spell of the inimitable legendary singer of our times. Going by the classical grammar, a style of singing, if followed by three generations, gets elevated to the status of a gharana. It therefore felt wonderful on this occasion, which heralded the mood of the Puja, to spot a sizable number of representatives of the fourth generation in the audience. .

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