Joining celebrated contemporary singer Lopamudra Mitra in her effort to spread the wings of rural folk music and give succor to the hard-pressed practitioners, Lalon biopic director Goutam Ghosh says true art form, having links with life, thrives in villages.
"The carefree celebration of life and nature with earthy smell can't be sensed in the concrete and granite world we inhabit. And it's a pity we look the other way to the less popular jhumur, gambhira and similar folk forms. We fail to appreciate the artistes having devoted everything to this discipline," the Moner Manush director said.
Goutam hailed sister-singer Lopamudra for her endeavour to bring together root music exponents before the arclight in metropolis in Sohoj Parav initiative.
"It is a fascinating culture. The culture and art form, the philosophy of life espoused by the bauls and fakirs who follow this art for ages with no media around. I had rich experiences during shoots of Moner Manus about this sect. This and other folk art form, thriving in rural belts should be saved from extinction one day," Goutam, having made Paar on the life of have-nots in labourers' colonies, said.
Thanking Goutam Ghosh for his unstinted support, cult song 'Benimadhab' singer Lopamudra said, "Sahaj Parav is an initiative to assimilate different cultural strands with one river.
"We will transcend boundaries to form a global network highlighting our folk art forms, which is root of all music, and learning from cultures across the seven seas in the literal sense," Lopamudra said.
From Kirtan, baul, bhawaqla, jhumur, bhatiali, fakiri and chhau we will have rajasthani folk, north Indian kajri, and south Indian folk singers patronised in Sahaj Parav which will be one of its kind in the country mooted by a popular singer and aided by the artiste fraternity, a sustained effort," lyricist--singer-poet Joy Sarkar said.
