“We aspire to know why the bird sings, why the sprinkling of water sounds harmonious. With questions like these churning in our minds we hum the tunes and sing Joler Gaan in unhindered voices.” — these are a couple of lines that will greet you if you take a peek at Joler Gaan’s website.
Joler Gaan released its third album called ‘Noyon Joler Gaan’ on 27th October, 2019. It has 12 songs and one of them, Chondoni has been sung by prominent folk singer, songwriter and flutist Bari Siddiqui. Since 1996, he has been closely associated with band member Rahul Ananda, who refers to Bari Siddiqui as Guru. The tracks cover diverse topics, from winter to wedding, from birds to bondhus. Initially the album was to be released both in digital platforms and physical stores but the idea of physical discs was later rejected.
Nature’s children
From its inception, Joler Gaan has been a band known for its naturalism. Soil, rivers, land and highlands inspire the band. The name ‘Joler Gaan’ is a tribute to the 1300 rivers of Bangladesh. The phrase Joler Gaan’s literal translation is music of water. The band members believe that as the sons of the soil, their spiritual and emotional awareness originates from water. Water is also a source of peoples’ livelihoods. The idea of the band formed in Charukola during Rahul Ananda’s university days. Joler Gaan and Charukola are intertwined. So much so that some refer to Joler Gaan as ‘Charukola’s band’. Rahul and Kanak started with the aim of playing with music the same way they played with their colors and brushes. They believe music is able to connect with humans in a capacity greater than that any other form of art can.
Joler Gaan is now an eight-member team. They are an eccentric bunch of people. The members are either involved with theatre or visual arts or both. Along with his visual art, Rahul Ananda is a leading actor and musician of theatre group ‘Prachyanat’. ABS Xem and Gopi Devnath are also a part of the same theatre group. The band is also known for making new musical instruments to incorporate new sounds along with playing a few unconventional ones. Bassist Dipankar Roy Dip’s passion involves making new musical instruments. From international festivals to village courtyards, Joler Gaan does not discriminate. All audience is equally important for them.
Noyon Joler Gaan
The band’s goal of portraying the landscape of Bangladesh through music is reflected on songs such as Banglar Mukh, Phulkumari’r Biye and Pitha-Pulir Gaan. Pitha-Pulir Gaan starts with a small exchange between the band members on what the singer means by Bihanbela. Lyricist Mallik Yishorja has successfully tied several elements of winter as experienced by the people in the rural parts of Bangladesh for this song. The music video is as appealing as the song itself as members of the band offer a jovial performance sitting on the stairs of a tin shed house and Snata Shahrin makes a special appearance. There are separate music videos based on original concepts for each track of the album.
You might have already guessed Phulkumari’r Biye is the band’s take on the more traditional weddings in Bangladesh. It will be surprising if this song does not heavily feature in the upcoming wedding season. The ninth track in the album Manush O Mukhosh calls for people come out of their hiding and stand up for their rights. The almost nine-minute-long music video of Chondoni features watercolor paintings done by Urmila Shukla through out the video. All twelve songs in the album are different yet remarkable. The music video of Shunno may give you the idea that Joler Gaan likes to experiment and create unique content. Penned by Goshai Bonomali, Roshik Je Jon is a jolly song that is bound to remind you of jatra pala. All the tracks are lengthier than the average five to six minutes songs most people are used but they rarely overstay their welcome. Only Roshik Je Jon is below the five-minute mark. The enthusiasm of the band in the music videos is quite uplifting.
Turn up the volume and let ‘Noyon Joler Gaan’ mesmerize you. Joler Gaan suggests you get a cup of tea to go along with the music.
