‘We are all Moheen’: Artistes pay tribute to Tapas Das at ‘Bhalobashi Jyotsnay’

When I heard there was going to be a fund-raising concert to celebrate the music of Moheener Ghoraguli, I rushed to get tickets because this would be the first time so many Bangladeshi artistes would come together to sing songs of the band that has been enchanting us since the 70s. Only after a handful of days, news broke of the passing of one of Moheen's Adi Ghora, Tapas 'Bapi' Das.

However, during the tribute concert, when members from Moheen Ekhon O Bondhura, held a phone close to the mic to play the last voice clip Bapi da had recorded, we all heard him say, "There is a myriad of obstacles but the show must go on and on."

Yesterday evening was about Tapas 'Bapi' Das. It was about Moheener Ghoraguli. It was about songs of love, social commentary, existentialism and rebellion, spirituality and philosophy and much more. "Bhalobashi Jyotsnay: the tribute concert for Tapas Bapi Das" took place yesterday evening at the Liberation War Museum auditorium in the presence of 36 talented artistes of Bangladesh. The concert was jointly organized by Eventholic, Acoustica, and Ajob Prokash. All the funds raised from the concert will be handed over to his family.

Moheener Ghoraguli was the first Bengali independent folk-rock band. Their songs blended a mix of many genres with influences from American, Latin, rock, jazz, folk, Baul. The core members of the band were Gautam Chattopadhyay, Biswanath Chattopadhyay, Pradip Chattopadhyay, Ranjon Ghoshal, Abraham Mazumdar, Tapesh Bandopadhyay and Tapas Das. Tapas Das, lovingly referred to as Bapi da, was the last founding member who had been a long-sufferer of lung cancer.

This concert never set out to be commemorative; it was incepted to help raise funds for Bapi da's treatment. Bapi da knew that some loving artists of Bangladesh were coming forward to celebrate his music and support his treatment. Even 12 hours before he breathed his last, he signed a t-shirt for the concert but he could not stay to see it happen.

Nevertheless, a cheerful crowd of music enthusiasts gathered last night to sing and hum to songs of Moheener Ghoraguli. Unlike many commercial concerts with varying ticket points and facilities, the tribute concert had only one type of ticketing thath gave you entry to sit or enjoy anywhere you like. Additional merchandise including a poster, booklet, and a signed t-shirt by Bapi da himself were available for grabs at the venue.

A cover contest was held leading up to the day of the concert. The three emerging winners got the chance to be the opening acts of the memorializing concert. Aditya Bhowmik sang "Ei Shure Bohudure" to start the evening followed by the duo of Sasha and Martin Shabuj Hasda who sang "Shudhijon Shono" and "Maroon Sandyalok" respectively.

The evening picked up then when the lineup of artists started with Aurgho singing "Tomay Dilam" and everybody chimed along. The artistes who graced the stage one after another included the likes of Antu Das, Ahnaf Khan Anik, Ahmed Hassan Sunny, Kaaktaal, Joy Shahriar, Tanzir Tuhin (Avash), Tilak, The Rehman Duo, Nayeem Mahmud, Nishat AK, Probar Ripon, Farhan, Farah Diba Tasnim, Bhasga, Maisha Moriom, Mahmud Hassan Uzzal, Mishu (Shohortoli), Muiz Mahfuz and many more.

As Sandhi got up on stage, he manifested the versatility of the band when he said "If you listen to Moheener Ghoraguli, you get the opportunity to hear out Ravi Shankar, Beethoven all at once as well." The spectators sat engrossed in the melodies as different renditions of the classic songs of the band were performed.

Starting from popular favorites to more uncommon songs, the audience sang along to "Tomay Dilam", "Manush Chena Day", "Amar Priya Caffe", "Ei Muhurte", "Telephone", "Songbighno Pakhikul", "Binita Kemon Acho?", and more.

Some songs were sung more than once in different renditions and tempos. The dedication of the singers and their love for the band was conspicuous in the performances. Rasheed Sharif Shoaib said, "For me, there is no one higher than Moheener Ghoraguli when it comes to music."

The author of the only book on the band, in Bangladesh, Sazzad Hossain, spoke about his experience with the original members. Also, Moheen Ekhon O Bandhura the band Bapi da mentored came all the way from Kolkata to perform and share the last words Bapi da recorded for his fans.

"Prithibita Naki Choto Hote Hote', the song that Tanzir Tuhin got everybody to harmonize to as the penultimate performance, was an original song written by Moheener Ghoraguli but was sung by another band. It was the customary nature of the cult-classic band to promote new artistes.

Gowtam K Shuvo, the manager of Shonar Bangla Circus and one of the organizers, told The Daily Star, "Moheener Ghoraguli made albums to connect people and music. Numerous artistes worked on each of their albums and later went on to become renowned artists. Hence, we wanted to bring together so many artists who share the love for this band and get to sing at least one song on stage."

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A musical, carnivalesque meeting of two Bengals

As said was done. For the last performance to wrap up the evening of commemoration in songs, all the present artists took the stage to sing the titular track of the night, "Bhalobashi Jotsnay". Their collective harmonies bestowed upon the auditorium an ethereal ambiance with Bapi da present in spirit.