Skip to content Skip to navigation

D Day for Piano Kids

GUWAHATI:            The State’s leading music institute Piano Kids celebrated its sixth anniversary with an evening of exhilarating piano music performed by a group of talented youngsters in chic costumes at the Pragjyoti Cultural Complex, Machkhowa, Guwahati, on April 6. The combined musical energy of these kids truly lived up to the expectations and interests among music aficionados. The musical programme, designed and directed by renowned piano maestro Kushal Krishna Dev Goswami, was titled ‘Night Of The Little Pianists 2018’.
            After a welcome speech by Dr Pradip Mahanta, the president of the working committee, the evening kicked off with the devotional tune – ‘Muktito nispriha jitu’, composed by Srimanta Sankardeva and Madhabdev, rendered and set to music by the students of the institute. As has been a tradition, Piano Kids showcased music that encompassed several genres, and the students with their sustained and focused learning, played them with admirable ease, making the evening a feast for music lovers and enthusiasts. 
            The institute continues to nurture and develop Assamese classics with timeless western and contemporary compositions in all its varied forms. Apart from integrating western compositions, ballads and folk music from all over the world, reflecting a wide variety of musical influences, Kushal Krishna Dev Goswami has been assiduously working towards preserving, promoting and revitalising Assamese traditional songs, including the Borgeets, the tunes of the Kirtan Ghosha and Naamghosha, Oja Pali, Zikir and Jaris, by converting them into the staff notation. It has been central to his pioneering and acclaimed work in piano music, and which in turn, has provided a wonderful structure for the young and upcoming pianists to not only just learn and practice, but broaden their horizons, in a collective musical environment. “It has always been my vision to incorporate many of our traditional folk songs to the staff notation”, said Dev Goswami, after being felicitated by the organising committee, comprising mostly of guardians of the students. He also felt that these traditional Assamese songs needed to be disseminated elsewhere in the country and even abroad. It has been a challenge for him shepherding a whole bunch of youngsters, who went through rigorous hours of training in preparation for the big occasion.
            The evening proceeded with the students displaying their prowess and energy in a number of musical numbers comprising of the familiar lullaby ‘Aamaare moina xubo ye..’, ‘We shall overcome’, which was once a key anthem of the African American civil rights movement in the Fifties and Sixties, legendary artiste Dr Bhupen Hazarika’s immortal ‘Bistirno paarore..’, Kalaguru Bishnuprasad Rabha’s ‘Naahor phule nuxuwaai..’, Australian composer Katherine Faith’s ‘Swans on the Lake’, French musician George Biscof’s ‘Morning greetings’, ‘Maa aami Sadiyale jaamei’ – an evergreen number written by lyricist Keshav Mahanta and rendered by Khagen Mahanta, Kishore Kumar’s popular Hindi song ‘Ahh Chal Ke Tuje..’ from the film ‘Door Gagan Ki Chaon Main’, Jayanta Hazarika’s evergreen song ‘Mayamoi rupali jonak..’, and finally, what was certainly the highlight of the evening, a Bihu performance played on a track, which had been converted to staff notation for the first time by Goswami. Weaving a tapestry around Assamese, Boro, Seraa, Mishing and Tiwa Bihu, the group players engaged the audience with their dexterous movements, playing in perfect harmony. Goswami selected the track after going through a lot of research work, listening and collecting traditional tunes and cataloguing them before laying out the notations. It has certainly left everyone in the audiences with a greater sense of appreciation for the enormous amount of work and creativity that the maestro has endeavoured to accomplish.
            The evening also witnessed the felicitation of renowned music director of Assamese cinema Ramen Baruah, who graced the occasion as the chief guest. “The group playing is beautifully synchronised and disciplined, and the credit goes to Goswami for instilling such confidence in his students,” said Baruah. The organisers also felicitated Pronoy Bordoloi, executive editor, Prag News and Gita Dutta, Principal of Shrimanta Shankar Academy. The programme was nicely compered by Roonjyoti Hazarika Bora and Papori Saikia Dowerah.

Add new comment

Random Stories

Karbi outfit calls for total shutdown

6 Nov 2017 - 11:03am | Syed Miraz Ahmed
The People's Democratic Council of Karbi-longri (PDCK) an affiliate of the United National Liberation Front of Western South East Asia (UNLFWSEA) Sunday condemned the atrocities committed by what it...

Carnage at Guiling in NC hills; 3 killed, 90 houses gutted in fire

11 May 2009 - 1:30pm | editor
Three persons were killed and at least 90 houses were set on fire in a fresh string of incidents in the North Cachar hills district on Monday.According to information, the incident took place in...

Campaigning gets momentum in Kokrajhar west LAC

4 Apr 2016 - 9:17pm | AT Kokrajhar Bureau
The electioneering campaign wave to the second phase assembly election slated to be held on April 11 has been seen more gaining momentum among citizens and voters in the lower Assam constituencies...

Mystery shrouds around missing case diaries

2 Aug 2010 - 12:20pm | Daya Nath Singh
For more than two months the Assam government is puzzled over two TADA case diaries missing from Pan Bazar and Chandmari police stations of Guwahati. Now the case has been entrusted to the state...

Other Contents by Author

It has only recently completed its dubbing, but ‘Siyahir Rong’ is already creating a lot of buzz on social media. The upcoming film is based on noted senior political journalist and writer Jitumoni Bora’s acclaimed novel of the same title, which was published in 2016. Based on his own professional experiences of over 25 years, Bora’s powerful and eye-opening work stirred the conscience of the readers with its compelling revelations of the dark truths and sleazy practices in print journalism, which has somewhat dented the reputation of this profession. It was important that this very relevant and thought-provoking story be told through the cinematic medium, because of its...
The 13th Principal Bhabananda Deka-Nalini Prava Deka Endowment Lecture was successfully organised by the Assam Foundation-India in a solemn function held at the Guwahati Press Club, on December 4, 2019. The function also coincided with the release of three books – Principal Bhabananda Deka Rachanawali, Nalini Prava Deka Rachanawali, and Arnab Jan Deka Natyawali – a compendium of the stage and radio plays written by popular storywriter-novelist Arnab Jan Deka. The programme was presided over by Dr Narendra Nath Sarma, eminent historian and former Professor and Head, Department of Library and Information Science, Gauhati University, and attended by noted personalities like actors Pranjal...
The shooting of a mega TV series on an adventure reality game show is now in progress at the city’s landmark location of Ranibagan in Beltola Tinali, Guwahati. Produced by Hawksbill Productions, the project ‘Mountain Warriors’ has been sanctioned by Doordarshan, New Delhi, under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, and will be telecast by the newly-launched satellite channel Arunprabha. The reality-based show, which saw the participation of contestants hailing from different parts of the North-East, has been produced and directed by Vikeyeno Zao, who has earned a name for herself as an acclaimed documentary filmmaker. Born and raised in the hilly town of Kohima, belonging to the...
A true and sincere devotee of the great saints – Srimanta Sankardeva and Sri Sri Madhabdev, the renowned Vaishnavite preserver of Sattriya culture and a philanthropist, the late Dalim Pathak’s charitable nature is manifest in the establishment of a number of social-cultural organisations in the State. On the occasion of his first death anniversary, a co-memorial book – Xuaroni Baibhav – was released by noted cultural activist, writer, dramatist and actor Ratna Ojha in a function held at the Bhabendra Alay in Beltola, Guwahati, recently. The book’s remarkable collections of essays, in addition to memoirs and speeches, in both Assamese and English, complemented by photographs, is a...
In a tribute function, coinciding with a day-long programme, held to mark the 8th death anniversary of Bharat Ratna Dr Bhupen Hazarika as well as the birth anniversary of noted litterateur, lyricist, dramatist and musician Sushil Kumar Rai, an audio album containing nine lilting modern tunes entitled ‘Jiya Anubhuti’ was released by noted musician Anupam Choudhury in Dudhnoi recently. Produced under the banner of PKD Production, the compassionate album, conceptualised by Kripamoy Das, contains the wonderful lyrics of Sushil Kumar Rai, including Swagatam Samagata he Shudhigon, Jiri Jiri Nijarai, Lajuki Lata mur kotha kuwa, Mur Mondirot tumar arati, among others, which were rendered to...
After a long gap, the Assam chapter of Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA) will present a new Assamese play in the form of ‘An Inspector Calls’ on November 27, 2019, at the Kumar Bhaskar Natya Mandir, Uzanbazar, Guwahati, for the theatre lovers of the State. IPTA, which has worked for the development of humanity through culture since 1947, has produced a number of famous plays like ‘Xunali Dhanani’, ‘Seujia Kuhipaat’, ‘Tofaan’, ‘Navaprabhat’, ‘Sapasalor Seka’, etc, and many shadow plays like ‘Poharaloi’, ‘Amar Jatra’, ‘15 Augustor Ahbaan’ and ‘Tirut Singh’, which were unanimously praised by the masses. Hemango Biswas, the founder secretary of the Assam chapter, worked with some of...
With its roots firmly planted in tradition, the unique Bongeets created by Bonkonwar Anandiram Das have been seeing a cultural revival of sorts in the State. These heartfelt songs, which spring from a beautiful blend of Bihu tunes with other native songs, resonated with the people, irrespective of age or musical preference. Among those handful of artistes who have been playing an important role in preserving and promoting these gems, is the State’s eminent singer Munindra Kumar Saikia, who is also an important member of Jubatirtha – a cultural organisation which has been organising workshops and seminars on Bongeets for a number of years now. His deep eagerness to learn and imbibe the...
A prolific novelist, short story writer, poet, playwright, screenplay writer, documentary filmmaker, columnist, TV actor, river engineer, eco-technocrat all rolled into one, Arnab Jan Deka’s wide-ranging literary interests led him to start writing fiction just at the end of the twentieth century, and two leading Assamese literary journals – Prantik and Goriyoshi, firmly established his reputation as a serious story-writer in Assam. “My first Assamese short story collection in addition to my first novel got published in 1999, and both saw unprecedented success and were runaway hits among readers,” the celebrated author recalls.   And within the next two decades, his short stories and...
Making his comeback after 13 years as a filmmaker, actor Jatin Bora is gearing up to present his new film ‘Ratnakar’. The much anticipated big-budgeted film, produced under the banner of JB Films, will hit the screens on October 11, soon after the conclusion of Durga Puja. The need of the hour is to provide meaningful entertainment so that the audiences in Assam go back to the theatres. Jatin Bora has assured that his venture is not a run-of-the-mill Assamese film but promises something more. Depicting three different stages of a man’s life, the film is built around a father-daughter relationship, which has not been adequately explored in Assamese cinema. The film boasts of a number of...
The unique Bongeets, created by Bonkonwar Anandiram Das, are a beautiful blend of Bihu tunes with other native songs, and they resonated with the people of Assam, irrespective of age or musical preference. It was through these exquisite songs and lyrics that Bonkonwar interpreted his experiences, which also reflected much of the feelings of common people, while also depicting Nature in all its bounty. He breathed new life into Assamese music and the fresh appeal of the songs made them hugely popular among the masses. Bonkonwar employed the pastoral convention to talk about the hopes and aspirations of the rural folk, and through it, connected to larger humanity as well, in the hallowed...