Manicktalla Chaltabagan Lohapatty Durga Puja organized the Dhakutsav, the annual event that they organize every year just before the Pujas.

The event saw the presence of eminent personalities like Sundeep Bhutoria, Bickram Ghosh, Jaya Seal Ghosh, Nilanjana Sengupta, Saswata Chatterjee, Shaan, Hariharan, Amit Kumar, Zubeen Garg, Sourendro Mullick, Soumyojit Das, and others.

The event began with the auspicious lighting of the lamp.

This was followed by a spirited performance of a team from Orissa who played double conch shells to the beat of the drums.

Bickram Ghosh’s music album centered essentially around Dhaak- the drum of Bengal titled Aaj Baja Tui Dhaak was released at this event in the presence of Bickram Ghosh, Hariharan, Amit Kumar, Shaan, Zubeen Garg and Mahalakshmi Iyer.

The music of the album is by Bickram Ghosh while the lyrics are by Sugata Guha. The video has been directed by Shekhar Ghosh.

Bickram Ghosh said “I always work keeping in mind my tradition and heritage. All my works conform to our Indian heritage and culture. Tradition is our asset. We all need to work around it. But this does not mean that my work is not modern. It is a blend of both modern and traditional elements”.

Hariharan said “The event today took me back to 25 years ago when I first sang my Bengali pujo song. I thank Bickram for giving me the opportunity to sing this song. There is a romantic number with Kaushiki in this album too”.

The songs are in Bengali and Hindi.

Amit Kumar said “I sang a solo song dedicated to Pancham da in the album. I am very happy that I was asked by Bickram to be a part of this album along with the other talented artists”.

Shaan said that with this song the essence of the Bengali dhaak will reach out to the pan-India audience with the song Aaj Baja Tui Dhaak.

Bickram Ghosh, Saswata Chatterjee, Shaan, Hariharan, Zubeen Garg tried their hands at playing the Dhaak.

Saswata Chatterjee said “One must remember that the pandemic is not yet over. So one must conform to all the precautions and enjoy the Durga Puja. Be safe and have a great Durga Puja”.

A fantastic dance performance depicting the story of Mahishasur Mardini was showcased by a dance group.

Dhakutsav surely set the mood for the upcoming festive season in our minds.

Priyanka Dutta