@BramptonLibrary: Bengali Folk Songs by Durba Mukherjee

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About

Hello Culture Days Viewers,

I have always found joy and solace in music and specially during the Covid lockdown. Today I would like to present two Bengali folk songs that go in the spirit of reimagination, the theme of Culture Days 2021.

Bengali or Bangla is primarily spoken in Bangladesh and a few states of India like Bengal, Assam, Tripura etc. There are 228 million first language speakers and 37 million second language speakers of Bengali. Our language is enriched in literature and music.

Folk songs are generally composed by musicians close to the soil of the land. That is why they portray the life of the grassroot people, their struggle, their festivals, their culture, their philosophy etc. Folk songs composed of colloquial lyrics and melodious tunes live in the hearts of people for many generations.

The first song describes the different shades of people around us. There are many different types of people in the same community, with whom you may agree or disagree on different viewpoints. However, you may find people of similar mindset in different communities. In a time of communal conflicts across the globe, among races, religions, genders, castes and tribes, the song makes us look beyond the apparent differences in people and find harmony in diversity.

The second song describes the toils and worries of the fishermen sailing in the sea. When we look deeper into the lyrics of the song, we observe that it describes our lives with endless struggles. We are living in an era of catastrophes. In recent years we have been hit by the pandemic, natural calamities, economic recessions and what not. But life goes on. Even if we can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel, we cannot stop. We must move on.

Hope you all enjoyed the Bengali folk songs today. I would love to have your feedback and more opportunities to participate in different culture programs. I am proud to be part of Culture Days celebrations.

Links

• Brampton Library bramptonlibrary.ca

Organizer

Durba Mukherjee

My name is Durba Mukherjee. My passion is music. I am an amateur vocalist. I sing primarily Bengali and Hindi songs in local cultural programs. I would love to network with people with the same passion and learn more about various folk songs from other cultures.