Asked to sing Hindi at Pahela Baishakh despite lifelong Bangla career: Sahana Bajpaie

Renowned Rabindra Sangeet artiste Sahana Bajpaie has expressed concern over what she describes as the gradual erosion of Bengali identity, particularly in the cultural sphere. In a recent Facebook post, she criticised the growing trend of prioritising Hindi songs over Bangla music, even at quintessentially Bengali celebrations such as Pahela Baishakh and Durga Puja in Kolkata.

Bajpaie noted that artistes who have spent their lives performing Bangla songs are now invited to such events on the condition that they must also sing in Hindi. She further pointed out that television serials frequently insert Hindi songs to boost TRP ratings, while FM radio stations play only a handful of Bangla songs each day.

Sharing her own experience, the London-based artiste — who has taught Bengali at the University of London for over a decade, and performed Pratul Mukhopadhyay's "Ami Banglay Gaan Gai" and Rabindra Sangeet in the British Parliament — said she has faced public criticism from senior cultural figures. "They claim I am not truly Bengali, that I do not understand the essence of Rabindranath's lyrics," she wrote, adding that one commentator even reduced her identity to "being once a Bangladeshi bride".

Bajpaie argued that when a community devalues its own language in daily life, it weakens its cultural foundation, making it easier for others to marginalise it. She stressed that linguistic pride must be nurtured at home.

Taking aim at cultural double standards, she observed that while some criticise university students for wearing ripped jeans and playing the daff — even when singing Bangla songs — there is little objection to people in bright dhuti-panjabi dancing to Hindi songs during Bangla New Year celebrations.

Her post ends by questioning whether the definition of being "Bengali" has become blurred.