First Rock Concert – Remembering Mohiner Ghoraguli
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Moheener Ghoraguli (, literally "Moheen's horses") was an Indian rock group from
Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...
, established in 1975. Their music drew from a wide variety of influences, including Bengali folk,
Baul The Baul () are a group of mystic minstrels of mixed elements of Sufism and Vaishnavism from different parts of Bangladesh and the neighboring Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura and Assam's Barak Valley and Meghalaya. Bauls constitute bot ...
, urban American folk, and
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
. They sometimes described their style as "Baul jazz." Established in the 1970s during a period of stagnation in Bengali music, when commercial film songs were the dominant market force, the lyrics and music (and to some extent the compositions) of Moheener Ghoraguli with its leader Gautam Chattopadhyay were radically new. They were of a very personal or social nature, similar to the urban folk movement led by
Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...
in the 60s. Though they were almost unknown in their time, in recent years they have undergone a critical re-evaluation. The band disbanded in 1981. In the 1990s, Gautam released a compilation of "Moheener Ghoraguli Sampadito" albums, including songs that were written and composed by Gautam Chattopadhyay himself and by other contemporary artistes and a few old songs of Moheener Ghoraguli. The albums were '' Aabaar Bochhor Kuri Pore'' in 1995, ''Jhara Somoyer Gaan'' (1996),
Maya Maya may refer to: Ethnic groups * Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America ** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples ** Mayan languages, the languages of the Maya peoples * Maya (East Africa), a p ...
in 1998 and Khyapar Gaan in 1999.


Later years

In the early years Moheener Ghoraguli, the band, performed in and around Kolkata and produced three albums until 1981 and then dissolved. In the late 1980s Subrata Ghosh a student of Presidency College, Kolkata, an ardent music lover, heard a song ''bhalo bashi jotsnay kash boney chhut tey'' and learned of Gautam Chattopadhay. Immediately he became a die-hard fan of Moni da and excavated information about him. In a few days, Subrata reached Monida's residence at Naktala. After a few days of jamming with Subrata, the 2nd innings of Mohin started. It was days after days, night after night, month after month gradually new generation music lovers, who wanted to break the traditional tide of Bengali music started jamming in at Monida's small drawing room and sometimes they used to gather at Salt Lake BE Park at Salt Lake Welfare Association's tent to create innovative music. This was the time when the most revolutionary compositions like "Prithibi", "Telephone", "Bangalee Korechoo" by Gautam were created. In the mid-1990s, a decade and a half after Mohineer Ghoraguli's dissolution, Gautam Chattopadhyay decided to revive the movement of Moheener Ghoraguli. In 1994 Gautam was awarded from Kolkata Doordarshan to make a first ever Bengali Music Video with a budget. The budget was too little to make a quality product, so after the video songs got recorded and televised for the Doordarshan, Gautam decided to come out with an audio cassette with the support of Sourish and A. Mukherjee. The cassette album Abar Bochhor Kuri poray – compiled by Mohiner Ghoraguli: Mohiner Ghoraguli shompadita Bengali Gaan. ''Abar Bochhor Kuri Porey'' ("Again, After Twenty Years", a quotation from
Jibanananda Das Jibanananda Das (17 February 1899 – 22 October 1954) was a Bengali poet, writer, novelist and essayist in the Bengali language. Popularly called "Rupashi Banglar Kabi'' ('Poet of Beautiful Bengal'), Das is the most read Bengali poet after Rab ...
), released at the
Kolkata Book Fair The International Kolkata Book Fair (formerly Calcutta Book Fair) is a winter fair in Kolkata. It is a unique book fair in the sense of not being a trade fair—the book fair is primarily for the general public rather than whole-sale distribu ...
. It included Gautam Chattopadhyay's own compositions, a few original Moheener Ghoraguli classics from the 1970s, as well as songs recorded by selected music makers of the 90s. Although listeners were initially slow to catch on, the album proved to be a hit, and it introduced the MG movement to a new generation of music-lovers. Gautam Chattopadhyay finally saw Moheener Ghoraguli music gaining the popularity and critical recognition that had eluded their band in the 1970s. Several other successful compilations have followed since the first one. Both in their native West Bengal and in Bangladesh, Moheener Ghoraguli is now a much-admired movement. Gautam's death in 1999 was sudden. After returning from a location shooting of his last film ''Rong Bin'', which was never completed, the next day he went to the ''Indropuri Studio'' to meet his longtime cinematographer friend and colleague, Vivek Banerjee and there he collapsed and died of a heart attack. An entire generation of old and new musicians who had been popularised by Gautam
Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...
mourned his untimely death and a tribute album "Moni Chara Shunno Laage" was released; Moni was not Gautam's nickname, but his siblings would call him Moni-da, moni, defining that he was the third of the brothers. His nickname was Manik.


Meaning of the band's name

The literal meaning of ''Moheen'er Ghora-guli'' is "Moheen's horses". While this obscure phrase puzzles many of the band's fans, it is actually taken from a poem ''Ghora'' ('Horses') from the poetry book ''Shatti Tarar Timir'' (Bengali: সাতটি তারার তিমির) by the great modernist Bengali poet
Jibanananda Das Jibanananda Das (17 February 1899 – 22 October 1954) was a Bengali poet, writer, novelist and essayist in the Bengali language. Popularly called "Rupashi Banglar Kabi'' ('Poet of Beautiful Bengal'), Das is the most read Bengali poet after Rab ...
. The second line of the poem is: : ''"মহীনের ঘোড়াগুলো ঘাস খায় কার্তিকের জ্যোৎস্নার প্রান্তরে;"'' loosely translated as: : ''"Moheen's horses graze on the horizon, in the Autumn moonlight"'' One of the band's most popular songs, ''Bhalobashi Jyotsnay'' (Bengali: ভালোবাসি জ্যোৎস্নায়), is a tribute to the natural beauty of the Bengali countryside; the influence of Jibanananda's pastoral poetry is evident throughout the song. There are other parallels: Jibanananda broke with the literary tradition of his time and introduced modernist themes and diction to
Bengali poetry Bengali poetry is a rich tradition of poetry in the Bengali language and has many different forms. Originating in Bengal, the history of Bengali poetry underwent three successive stages of development: poetry of the early age (like '' Charyapad ...
. He is often considered the first Bengali poet to truly break free of
Rabindranath Ravindranath or Rabindranath is an Indian name and may refer to the following: * Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Thakur (; anglicised as Rabindranath Tagore ; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengalis, Bengali polymath who worked ...
's imposing presence. To some extent, Moheener Ghoraguli attempted to do the same for Bengali popular music.


Band members

Original line-up: * Gautam Chattopadhyay (Manik a.k.a. Moni-da to his younger siblings) – voice, lead guitar, saxophone, folk instruments,
lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, ...
*
Pradip Chatterjee Pradip Chatterjee (born 15 December 1950) is a founder member of the Bengali band Moheener Ghoraguli. He is the younger brother of Gautam Chatterjee. He was also a theatre person, filmmaker and ethnographer. Also known as ''Bula'', Chatterje ...
(Bula Chattopadhyay)- bass guitar,
flute The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...
* Tapas Das
lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, ...
, voice, guitar *
Ranjon Ghoshal Ranjon Ghoshal (; 7 June 1955 – 9 July 2020) was an Indian theatre director and musician. He was a member of the Bengali band Moheener Ghoraguli, and ran an advertising agency, Mareech Advertising in Bangalore, apart from Forum Three, a the ...
lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, ...
, emcee,
visuals The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, image, filmmaking, design, crafts, and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual art, and textile ...
,
media relations Media relations involves working with media for the purpose of informing the public of an organization's mission, policies and practices in a positive, consistent and credible manner. It can also entail developing symbiotic relationships with medi ...
* Biswanath Bishu Chattopadhyay – drums,
bass violin Bass violin is the modern term for various 16th- and 17th-century bass instruments of the violin (i.e. '' viola da braccio'') family. They were the direct ancestor of the modern cello. Bass violins were usually somewhat larger than the modern ce ...
* Abraham Mazumdar – piano, violin * Tapesh Bandopadhyay (Bhanu) – voice, guitar, (till 1978) Later members: * Raja Banerjee – (1978 onwards – voice, guitar) After Tapesh Bandopadhyay left the band in 1978, he was replaced by Raja Banerjee. Raja went on to record the third Moheener Ghoraguli album
Drishyomaan Moheener Ghoraguli ''Drishyomaan Moheener Ghoraguli'' (', ''Unstoppable Moheener Ghoraguli'') is the second maxi single by the Bengali rock band Moheener Ghoraguli. It was released in 1979 as a Standard Play 45-rpm disc by Bharati Records, and includes the single "A ...
with the band and performed in numerous concerts till the band was disbanded. For a brief period Pranab Sengupta and Christopher Vaz appeared with the band.


Discography

Selected albums (1977-1979) *''
Shangbigno Pakhikul O Kolkata Bishayak ''Shangbigno Pakhikul O Kolkata Bishayak'' (', ''Anxious Feathers and Thematic Kolkata'') is the debut album by the Bengali rock band Moheener Ghoraguli. It was released in 1977 by Gathani Records. It was recorded at a local studio in Kolkata du ...
'' (1977) *''
Ajaana UDonto bostu ba Aw-Oo-Baw ''Ajaana UDonto bostu ba Aw-Oo-Baw'' ('; ''Unidentified Flying Object or UFO'') is the first maxi single by the Bengali rock band Moheener Ghoraguli. It was released on 21 August 1978 as a Standard Play 45-rpm disc by Hindusthan Records, and inclu ...
'' (1978) *''
Drishyomaan Moheener Ghoraguli ''Drishyomaan Moheener Ghoraguli'' (', ''Unstoppable Moheener Ghoraguli'') is the second maxi single by the Bengali rock band Moheener Ghoraguli. It was released in 1979 as a Standard Play 45-rpm disc by Bharati Records, and includes the single "A ...
'' (1979)


Musicianship


Style

This group was formed by a group of Kolkata musicians led by Gautam Chattopadhyay towards the end of 1974. Initially, they called themselves 'Saptarshi', and finally settled on the name 'Moheener Ghoraguli' proposed by
Ranjon Ghoshal Ranjon Ghoshal (; 7 June 1955 – 9 July 2020) was an Indian theatre director and musician. He was a member of the Bengali band Moheener Ghoraguli, and ran an advertising agency, Mareech Advertising in Bangalore, apart from Forum Three, a the ...
. The name was borrowed from a poem 'Ghora' by
Jibanananda Das Jibanananda Das (17 February 1899 – 22 October 1954) was a Bengali poet, writer, novelist and essayist in the Bengali language. Popularly called "Rupashi Banglar Kabi'' ('Poet of Beautiful Bengal'), Das is the most read Bengali poet after Rab ...
. In such a conservative climate, Moheener Ghoraguli, with its unorthodox musical compositions and strange choice of song themes, failed to gain much of a fan base. Its songs dealt with everyday topics—politics, poverty, injustice, revolution, love, loneliness, even begging and prostitution. Gautam Chattopadhyay had strong political beliefs; in common with many intelligent and idealistic young men of his generation, he was involved in socialist/communist politics during the 1960s and 1970s, and may have been involved in the
Naxalite Naxalism is the communist ideology of the Naxalites or Naxals, a grouping of political and insurgent groups from India. It is influenced by Maoist political sentiment and ideology. Inspired by Maoism, Charu Majumdar wrote the Historic Eight ...
movement. This political outlook was reflected in the musical output of the band. The type of music that Moheener Ghoraguli pioneered, though debatably, had the seeds of now very popular '' Jibonmukhi gaan'' or 'Songs of ordinary life'. Two decades after Moheen, singers like
Kabir Suman Kabir Suman (; born as Suman Chattopadhyay; 16 March 1949) is an Indian singer-songwriter, musician, music director, music composer, writer, actor, politician, and former journalist.Nochiketa and
Anjan Dutt Anjan Dutt (born 19 January 1953) is an Indian film director, actor, and singer-songwriter known for his work in the Bengali alternative music genre ''anyodharar gaan''. As an actor, Dutta began his career in Bengali cinema in the Mrinal Se ...
took ''Jibonmukhi gaan'' to a new level of popularity, but the origins of the genre can be found in the songs of Moheener Ghoraguli. The band recorded with Western and Bengali folk instruments and also experimented in a variety of musical styles, created baul-jazz, some of which must have jarred with the sensibilities of its audience. Today, these compositions sound quite contemporary, leading many to conclude that Moheener Ghoraguli was indeed ahead of its time. The band freely borrowed elements from '' baul shongeet'', the
folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...
of rural Bengal. It can therefore lay claim to being the original Bengali folk-rock band. Many bands since Moheen have adopted similar innovations.


Live performances

The original Moheener Ghoraguli line-up performed consistently over the period 1976–1981 throughout the city of
Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...
. Some of their notable performances were at: * Jogesh Mime Academy (1977 and 1978) * Star Theater (1978) * Max Mueller Bhavan (1979) *
Rabindra Sadan Rabindra Sadan is a cultural centre and theatre complex in Kolkata, India. It is located on Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Road in South Kolkata. It is noted for its large stage which is a prime venue for Bengali theatre and Kolkata Film Fest ...
(1977 and 1979) * St. Paul's Cathedral, Kolkata (1980) * Kolkata International Jazz Festival (1980) * Calcutta School of Music (1981) *
Tollygunge Club The Tollygunge Club ( Bengali: টালিগঞ্জ ক্লাব), popularly called Tolly Club, is a country club in India, located in Tollygunge in south Kolkata. Sir William Cruikshank established the club as an equestrian sports fac ...
(1981) Abar Bochhor Kuri Pore concert: All the new generation musicians who performed in the '' Aabaar Bochhor Kuri Pore '' album artists were given the opportunity to perform. While the singers and musicians were performing on the stage, at the backside, six huge canvas was kept and drawn by one of Bengal's most famous contemporary painters, depicted the meaning of the songs live on the canvas (Hiran Mitra also made such appearance in the 1970s with the Moheener Ghoraguli). Each of the Canvas later was donated to
Jadavpur University Jadavpur University ( abbr. JU) is a public state funded research university with its main campus located at Jadavpur, Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It was established on 25 July in 1906 as ''Bengal Technical Institute'' and was converted into ...
Student's Union with an autograph of Gautam and Rathin. In this concert, a few members of Original Mohineer Ghoraguli were also present like Abraham Majumder with his young students of Kolkata Music Academy, Tapas Das, Pradip Chattopadhyay, and Raja Banerjee. Monida's last live performance was at Kalyani University in January 1999, along with Subrata Ghosh of Garer Math, Neel, Bonny & Dwide of the then Krosswindz and the live sound mixing was done by Chhoton (founder member of Chandrabindo), a die-hard follower and inspirer of Subrata & Monida.


Tribute concerts

* First Rock Concert - Remembering Moheener Ghoraguli, a concert held at Ambedkar Bhavan, Bangalore on 17 February 2007. * Monfokira and Koushik (Prithibi) - Sangbigno Pakhikul & Nagar Sankirtan (2009). A tribute concert to Moheener Ghoraguli * Abar Bochhor Tirish Pore, Moheener Ghoraguli, Concert at
Nicco Park Nicco Park is an amusement park located in Jheel Meel, Sector - IV of Bidhannagar, West Bengal, India. The park was created to attract tourists to the state by providing family-friendly recreation as well as educative entertainment. Nicco P ...
, Kolkata, 5 January 2008 * Tribute to Moheener Ghoraguli by Kolkata musicians 2010 at the Basement, Kolkata * Bandwood Underground v.03 by News at Bengali Bands. Former Moheener Ghoraguli member Tapas, Subrata Ghosh and Joyjit Lahiri shared the same stage as a tribute to Gautam Chattopadhyay. * Smarane Gautam: A musical tribute to Mohiner Ghoraguli held on 25 December 2017 * Jhora Shomoyer Gaan - Smritir Molate Mohiner Ghoraguli: A musical tribute to Mohiner Ghoraguli held on 8 September 2019, organized by Kristy, A musical organization of
Khulna University Khulna University () is a public university, public research university at Gollamari in Khulna, Bangladesh. It was established in 1991. The university campus is near the river Moyur, on the Sher E Bangla Road (Khulna-Satkhira highway). The acad ...
at Khulna University Campus.


Covers

Moheener Ghoraguli's music is covered by Subrata Ghosh (Gorer Math) and also by a number of Bengali artists including
Fossils A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...
, Chandrabindoo, Bhoomi, Krosswindz, Lakkhichhara and
Insomnia Insomnia, also known as sleeplessness, is a sleep disorder where people have difficulty sleeping. They may have difficulty falling asleep, or staying asleep for as long as desired. Insomnia is typically followed by daytime sleepiness, low ene ...
and Prithibi. Gaurab Chattopadhyay (Gaboo), son of Gautam, is a catalyst member/drummer of the Kolkata band Lakkhichhara. Koushik of Prithibi with Monfokira has organised an experimental concert on Shottorer Sohortolir gaan, an unreleased album of Moheener Ghoraguli, with the aim of taking their music forward. In 2006, the original Moheener Ghoraguli song ''Prithibi ta naki'' was remade as ''Bheegi Bheegi'' by the music-director
Pritam Chakraborty Pritam Chakraborty (born 14 June 1971), also popularly known mononymously as Pritam, is a National Award winning Indian composer, instrumentalist, music producer and singer. Graduating from FTII in Sound Engineering, he worked as an ad jin ...
for the
Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...
film ''
Gangster A gangster (informally gangsta) is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from ''Organized crime, mob'' and the suffix ''wikt:-ster, -st ...
'' which went on to become a chartbuster. The song was sung by Bangladeshi singer James of Nagar Baul fame. ''Prithibi ta naki'' was sung by Bonnie who is a founder member of Oikyotaan, a
baul The Baul () are a group of mystic minstrels of mixed elements of Sufism and Vaishnavism from different parts of Bangladesh and the neighboring Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura and Assam's Barak Valley and Meghalaya. Bauls constitute bot ...
fusion band based in
Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...
. 9 January 2001 and 2002
Jadavpur University Jadavpur University ( abbr. JU) is a public state funded research university with its main campus located at Jadavpur, Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It was established on 25 July in 1906 as ''Bengal Technical Institute'' and was converted into ...
AISA organised Dariyay Ailo Tufan where all the contemporary Bengali bands performed in memory of Gautam Chattopadhyay.


References


External links

*
Moheener Ghoraguli fan website



Moheener Ghoraguli in Bollywood

Moheener Ghoraguli - Bengali Baul Jazz Band


{{Authority control 1975 establishments in India 1981 disestablishments in India Musical groups established in 1975 Musical groups disestablished in 1981 Bengali musicians Indian musical groups Culture of Kolkata Music of Bengal