Lakshyapar's 3rd Annual Classical Music Conference held

Surbandhu Ashok Chowdhury performs at the conference.

Narayanganj-based classical music group Lakshyapar hosted a nightlong classical music conference, for the third consecutive time. The event began on January 5 in the evening and continued till January 6 morning at the Convention Centre of Narayanganj Club Limited. Veteran Taal Guru (tabla artiste) Modon Gopal Das inaugurated the conference by lighting candles. The organisers also honoured Das with a lifetime achievement award.
Marking 150th birth anniversary of Kobiguru Rabindranath Tagore, artistes of Lakshyapar began the soiree with a choral rendition of the Tagore song, “Prothom Aadi Tabo Shokti”, set on Raga Deepak. Prior to that, Suparna Saha presented alap, bistar and tarana of the same raga, while coordinator of the music conference, Asit Kumar, recited the Tagore song.
Both noted and promising Bangladeshi and Indian artistes presented vocal and instrumental music at the conference.
Dr. Ishrat Jahan was the first vocalist of the evening. She performed a khayal set on Raga Hansadhwani. Talented classical vocalist Paramita was next to take the stage. She rendered a khayal based on Raga Shudh Kalyan, followed by a tarana performance.
K. Rohan Naidu, from Chhattisgarh, India played a dhun on the violin. Set on Raga Jog, the promising artiste stirred the hearts of many music enthusiasts during an hour-long recital.
Chhayanaut guru Anup Barua also performed a khayal based on Raga Malkauns, while Arshad Ali sang Raga Lalit at the conference. Kolkata based santoor artiste Shuddhashil Chaterjee performed a dhun set on Raga Bilaskhani Tori while Nishit Dey played Raga Tori on his sitar.
Shaila Tasmeen, an assistant professor at the Department of Music of Rajshahi University, presented Raga Saraswati, while Surbandhu Ashok Chowdhury performed a khayal based on Raga Aahir Bhairo that wrapped up the nightlong conference.
The conference aims to popularise the practice of classical music and generate interest in the genre, according to Asit Kumar. Kasem Jamal was the adviser to the conference.
Marking the conference, a music competition was arranged. Students from 28 schools of Narayanganj took part in the competition. The best three contenders were awarded the Haradhan-Sukhen Scholarship on classical music at the beginning of the conference.