The Anupam Roy Brand Of Music: Why Language Is No Barrier

Language has never been a barrier for good music. When something inspires you enough to smile, forget your worries and be lost to the world, it usually does not have specific words attached to it.

The saying holds true for me each time I listen to an Anupam Roy track. You may or may not know bengali, the main language in which he spins his magic, and even if you do, you may not always understand all of it. But that cannot stop you from enjoying his compositions.

I have been listening to his music for a long long time now, in fact, from the first time his song 'Amake Amar Moto Thaktey Dao' hit the bengali movie industry and raised the bar for everyone else forever. I of course did not know about it as soon as it was released. In fact, I got to hear it from a friend who happened to share the song with me, because he knew it would hit a cord somewhere. My friend thought the atmosphere created through the song, the settings, the scenario and the music, would be a perfect reflection of what I was going through then, and even though I was not sure at first, he made me listen to the track.

What happened after that....everyone knows....kind of.

There has been no looking back since and can never be....I have embraced his songs in a way that has made me give up my listening time for any other song, I rarely listen to other songs now. My friends who knew me from my youngest and young days are surprised at the change. I for one have never in my life heard or known a Bengali song. I know no Rabindra Sangeet, and the 3 or 4 I have heard have been modern variations, which I heard, liked and moved on. Did not stay with me.

I have never ever watched Bengali movies in my life...Ever....And I still barely do. But if it is one that features an Anupam Roy track or music, you bet I will watch it, whether or not the movie is at par with its music or not. I have suffered this movie watching trauma in the past, where I have watched certain Bengali movies only because Anupam Roy was associated with them. There were a couple that were real torture, but I watched, still....

If you have heard his music, Anupam Roy has only sung in Bengali, but a few here and there episodes of Hindi are also there...case in point the song 'Jani Dekha Hobe' with the famous haunting rendition of 'Jo wada kiya wo nibhana parega.' I can never have enough of it. As for his English engagement, listen to the track Second Sex that he released virtually on YouTube. It's outstanding. I have heard a few more English renditions by Anupam Roy that are not really 'released' - mainly on certain interviews and such. You wouldn't know it was him if you didn't see him singing them!

That said, I am not able to understand all his lyrics, and sooo many times I make a complete dumbo of myself when I confidently sing his songs, and am made to realise by other bong speakers that what I am singing makes no sense as they are all wrong words. But hey, do you see the smile on my face as I sing that song? Do you see the way I lose myself and am gone to the world? Do you see the space I enter and how it makes me forget anything that is worrisome, and all it leaves behind for me is happiness and hope and that feeling of love...do you see any of that?

If you do see any of that, you will see that language actually is no barrier...As long as it makes you smile and want to be happy and face the world with a brand new 'you' the language can't really make a difference...

Thank you....all over again....Anupam Roy...

- Debolina Raja Gupta

Anupam Roy Music: Should Come With An Insomnia Warning!

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Yes, it's a requisite I would say.....just how many times have you listened to an Anupam Roy song without realizing how long you've been listening?

Ask me and I will say...well...not many times, just about almost every day maybe! Huh!

So picture this....

It's late at night and I wrap up my work. The clock says something around midnight or past. Finally, all work done, I know I will relax now, read a book, listen to some music, watch a video or two....and I end up - well - listening to music, and one particular playlist at that.

Everyone is sleeping, the lights have been switched off and a cool breeze is flowing through the house, bringing in the scent of the sea and the hills.....I go and sit on my balcony, looking out at the few dots of light that are still on and will stay up with me....It's a magical time, especially with the magic in my ears.

And then begins the phase of listening and living the music.....

Headphones on....
Singing along to the main vocals.
Singing along to the backup vocals.
Moving my head to the music.
Headbanging.
Humming.
Eyes wide open.
Mind wide open.
Air drumming.
Air pianoing.
All imagining.
All living...


And living and living and loving...

And the clock says 3:30 Hello??!! What??!! a.m. !!!!

And I have to wake up in 3 hours' time again to work and carry on with the day...

And this isn't just the one off story, it is an everyday or every alternate day thing!

And you wonder why I'm asking for a warning label....

And let me tell you...warning or no warning...it's an addiction that you just can't get out of!

- Debolina Raja Gupta
 

Anupam Roy In Concert: Why You Should Watch This Magic For Yourself

If you are based in Kolkata you probably hear his charm at least once a day. Each time I am visiting the city I feel his songs seeping out of anything that has to do with music - whether it is the radio, the television or any concert happening in or around the city - this one voice is always there.

If you are not based in Kolkata, like me, and never have lived in the city, you still cannot miss out on this voice if you do happen to know this language. Of course there have been many instances when people do not understand the language and still love his music... Like I said, there is no escaping it.

So what is it that makes it so important for me to watch him in concert? Of course I love listening to his songs and his music, and it has become almost an addiction that is there with me almost all nights. Nights when I can't sleep or won't sleep, nights when I am staring out into the beautiful darkness and the approaching dawn, and times when I am with myself. Those are the times when I always have company in this one voice.

But I need more.

I crave much more than the music that lives in my ears and in my mind and heart.

I want to witness this magic live.

This is what takes me back to his city so many of the times that I do visit.

An Anupam Roy concert isn't just about getting to see the man on stage, in front of you. It's about

Listening But Not Listening: The Anupam Roy Sound Effect

So for the past few years or so it's been more like a routine. I can't sleep at night, I lie down and toss and turn and give up. I plug in my work and work and work. I try to sleep again. Get up again. By this time let me tell you, the entire family has been sleeping for a good three four hours at the least.

I give up. I do what I've been thinking of doing but pushing off. I plug in the music and head out for a a walk alone. The night is already all quiet by now and no one notices me. I walk and walk and walk, the music blaring loud in my ear, my head banging on to it, or sometimes shedding a tear. No one to watch you see..

Or sometimes

The Anupam Roy Band Live At Nazrul Mancha Kolkata: Some Amazing Moments of Pure Magic And Rock

- Debolina Raja Gupta

Catching Chotushkone In Kolkata And Mumbai

my piece of happiness at Kolkata

and next at Mumbai

Lucky me....and just when I was thinking I would never get a chance to watch the much anticipated Chotushkone on the silver screen, I got to watch it twice!

This makes it the only Bengali movie that I have watched more than once in the theater.

For the show at Kolkata, I ran from one end of the city to the other, managed to buy a ticket 5 minutes before the show and still watch it from the start.....

Anupam Roy: The Person I Cherish

My blog has always talked about how much I admire Anupam Roy and his music. His creations reached me at a time I needed it the most, and have stayed with me for the many years and moments I've really needed something to hold on to...

My appreciation and respect, and of course love, grew tremendously when I met him for the first time. Not to mention the fact that I hardly spoke to him then, so tongue tied was I. I remember the day and how much it affected me and continues to do so.

That apart, I will truly say I am lucky to have met him.....

His music has touched my life in more ways than one. I began my trips back to Calcutta during the last few years when I needed a connect to my roots, let's just say we all go through that phase, and though I'd always been sure that I would be the last person to head to Calcutta, it seems times they are a changing. More than once I've shared this premonition with people who know me that,

The Song That Changed My Life

About 3 or 4 years ago on a cool and breezy monsoon day here in Mumbai, I was busy searching the internet for some new songs. I was sitting on my balcony, the dark monsoon sea stretching out in the front, and the distant lights of the Mumbai ships and the city forming small glittering dots all around.

Most of the English and Hindi tracks were already known, so I typed in ‘Bengali’ in the keyword for the search.

As I sat there in the quiet and soulful hours much past midnight, I saw a track that I had not yet heard of, but one that came popping up in all my searches.

I tried using a few different words, but the same song was popping up everywhere. Just the fact that it was mentioned everywhere and came up in every search I did was enough reason for me to give it an ear.

Before this, I don’t remember the last Bengali song I had heard, or enjoyed, or learnt enough to sing along. I don’t remember any song actually. Maybe one or two that I had heard sometime when I visited Calcutta as a kid, but even then, there were no Bengali songs that I could say I knew or could sing.

I clicked on the song. The video had a very sepia feel to it. And these frames are of course a pull for me. So I was glued on instantly. As the music began, I could feel a stirring, I could feel a pull. There was something magical happening here, something different.

The Anupam Roy Band Live Performance Jan 2014 Kolkata

If you are anywhere in or around Kolkata, your weekend is off to a great start.

The Anupam Roy Band will perform live tonight at Khardah......ready???

Venue: Khardah Ravindra Bhavan
Date: 25th Jan 2014

For Passes: CALL Subhayu Singharoy at 09804892868

Ready to rock ??? :-)

- Debolina Raja Gupta

Anupam Roy: Making The Audience Go Crazy...Again and Again and Again....

(*all images in this post are copyright of the blog owner and author)
 
Clearly, when it comes to audience madness, audience love and being crazy for your idol, Anupam Roy beats them all......

Love for an idol expressed in different shades through different age groups....

- Debolina Raja Gupta

Anupam Roy On The Durga Puja Countdown: Courtesy Bengali Paper E-Bela

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(*the following appeared as a Bengali article in the paper EBela as part of Anupam Roy's column - Anupam Katha)

(for those readers who do not understand Bengali, yet love Anupam Roy's words, here's an attempted translation with as much as I could understand of the original Bengali version. Any mistakes are apologised for in advance)

The rain-soaked sombre skies shaded with blue smiles. The flowers giving off the holiday scent. The crowds on the streets, the excitement on the loudspeakers and the rolls-pakodas-phuchkas....all beginning the countdown to Durga Puja, in Anupam Roy's words...

Is it time already?

Where did so many people come from? What's happened to Gariahat? Is it already here? What month's this? But I barely saw any

Your Chance To Shoot With Anupam Roy, Proshenjit And More !

So of course you may have dreamed about this in your simplest and even wildest dreams - but never imagined that this could ever come true - right?

Well, here's your chance to not only see your favourite Anupam Roy live in action, but to also be part of the movie he is shooting for! Excited? Here's what you gotta do:

A Minute Away.....

This is one of my favourite pictures of Anupam Roy - not because I clicked it, but because I got to click it at a moment when he wasn't aware that he was being clicked, when he was just about to enter the stage and reach out to all those people out there who were calling out his name, and while he was standing there, quiet and calm, eyes reading the moment outside, listening to the chanting, and maybe, listening to something inside his heart as well.

The Beginning of A Story: Anupam Roy On The Novel Path

Okay, so I JUST HEARD this !!! And of course, as all my friends and readers on my other blog already know, am a crazy book lover, so this one is definitely a very exciting news for me!!!!

So what's the news?

Anupam Roy has started working on a novel.....whoa whoa whoa! (And just to let you know, I'm going to flex all my charms and influence and the like to get my hands on the FIRST signed copy! You may happily go for the second, third and so on.....!!!)

 For those of you who can't read the Bengali script, here's what it says, in an English translation as well as I could: (the exact Bengali is also shared at the bottom of the post in the english script)

'Anupam Roy is working on a new novel at home. ''I'm trying to write it by breaking away from the typical Bengali language and the typical novel style. Just started. Let's see how it goes.''

Though the name isn't decided yet, Anupam regrets he isn't able to write it in a serialised manner (or something that can be adapted to a serial?) sorry I couldn't get that translation correct.

'' I'm writing as and when I'm getting the inspiration, else it gets stuck.  Right now it's in that 'stuck' phase. Let's see when it gets over'' says Anupam.

 Wow.....and now, the bengali in english script....

'Upanyashik Anupam!

The Anupam Roy Band: Aka The Chilled Out Band

So over the years I've met a few people who are part of the music industry. Most of them are in the Hindi music industry and are either individual artists or part of a band.
Knowing the guys from The Anupam Roy Band has been a different kind of a revelation though - of course they are the first, and as yet, the only band/artists I know or have interacted with from the 'Bengali' music world.....

Second Sex: An Interview With Anupam Roy

Just watched an interview of Anupam Roy on a bengali news channel. The interview was around his latest offering 'Second Sex' and here's what the talk was all about. 

Once again, since the entire conversation was in Bengali, I've tried to share it here as well as I could understand. So please do forgive if there's some wrong interpretation. 

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1. Why did you create this song in English? Was this a deliberate attempt to let the song reach more audience, who are not comfortable with Bengali?

Anupam Roy Live Performance May 2013 Kolkata

Time to catch the next performance Kolkata people! Where? Here:

Date: 19th May 2013
Venue: Gyan Manch
For the Senco Gold Awards...

Be there....

And if you want any further information, please drop in a line here

- Debolina Raja Gupta

The Second Sex by Anupam Roy: Catch It On YouTube

This is the latest offering that's taken the youth of India by storm.

Watch and listen to The Second Sex by Anupam Roy here

The Anupam Roy Band Live Performance 1st May 2013

The Anupam Roy Band goes live today, the 1st of May 2013 for DAITM at the following:

Venue: Vidya Mandir, Kolkata
Time: 4pm

For more information, you can log in to their official FaceBook Fan page here

Anupam Roy and Ladies Ga-Ga!

You're one of them...aren't you? Well, if the trend on the man's social networking pages and fan pages are anything to go by, Anupam Roy is surely becoming quite the ladies' man....Umm...actually change that to 'has become quite the ladies' man.' 

With female fans pouring in on his pages from all over Kolkata, West Bengal, Bangladesh, India, US and other parts of the world, and Bong ladies from any and all parts of the world, this sure is one ladies ga-ga phenomenon that's happened quite fast for a Bengali celebrity.

I was made to assume that there are some other Bengali males who enjoy a similar fan following - I'm talking about some actors here. But once I checked out their profiles and spoke to some friends who live in Bengal, I realised that the appreciation, admiration, adulation and love that's pouring over and over-flowing for Anupam Roy is by far stronger, more sensible and real...Hmmm....

Of course there are the usual school and college-going giggly gang of girls too, the puppy loves, the mushy messages, the blossoming imaginary romances and the constant proclamations of love to Anupam 'da', but the fact can't be ignored that Anupam Roy is also quite a bigger rage amongst today's young 'thinking woman.' I've personally come across many such ladies who are from various parts of India and outside, and who are mature, smart, intellectual and perceptive people - and the one thing they all seem to have in common is the love for Anupam Roy.

So what's going on? Is it the lyrics? Is it the eyes? The flashing dimples? The soulful voice? The 'personal' feeling that comes with most of his songs where it seems he's singing only to you? Or is it the smartness, the freshness, the vibrancy, and the being 'real' and down-to-earth nature of this creative genius that is making his lady admirers drop in from near and far? Or is it the lone nature of the man, the pain somewhere-deep-within that calls out to you?

Whatever it is, this phenomenon is here to stay and only grow stronger and bigger by each passing day......

- Debolina Raja Gupta