Bannya at her best

Bannya performs at IGCC.

Indira Gandhi Culture Centre in Dhaka in association with the State Bank of India in Bangladesh, and Channel i as media partner, organised an evening of Rabindra Sangeet featuring one of Bangladesh's premier exponents, Rezwana Choudhury Bannya, on September 8, at the IGCC in Gulshan.
Among Bannya's renditions were “Amolo dhobolo paaley legeche”, “Amar raat pohalo”, “Bajao re mohono banshi” and “ Shara jibon dilo alo shurjo groho chand”.
Accompanying instrumentalists were Bimal Howlader (on the tabla), Richard Kishor (guitar), Ruptanu (keyboard), Gazi Abdul Hakim (flute) and Dipak Paul (octopad).
The remarkable melody in Bannya's voice, combined with the effortless control of the tune and perfect pronunciation of each word, makes her renditions of Rabindra Sangeet a distinct and divine experience for the connoisseurs.
Trained under notables like Dr. Sanjida Khatun and Atiqul Islam at Chhayanaut and at the Bulbul Academy of Fine Arts in Dhaka, her love and passion for Rabindra Sangeet intensified and flourished at Shantiniketan where she went to continue her music training under an ICCR scholarship. At Shantiniketan, she received training from stalwarts like Kanika Bandyopadhyay, Neelima Sen, Shudish Bandopadhyay, Ashesh Bandyopadhyay, Shoilajaranjan Majumdar, Shantidev Ghosh, Gora Sarbadhikary and Manju Bandopadhyay. She enjoyed a very close and special relationship with the late Kanika Bandopadhyay in particular that transcended the guru-shishya (master-disciple) tradition. Bannya considers Kanika Bandopadhyay as her friend, philosopher and guide. It was with her inspiration that Bannya established 'Shurer Dhara', a music school in Dhaka, in 1992.
Bannya has extensively travelled to almost all parts of the globe presenting Rabindra Sangeet to the global audience. She has released innumerable CDs and albums that have attained immense popularity and recognition.