Nandita Yasmin’s debut album “Bajabo Swarnobeena”
As the sarod strums out its entrance and the artiste breathes life into Tagore’s words Ohey shundor-o momo, you can immediately sense her conviction. The voice is certainly easy to the ear, or as renowned singer and Rabindra Sangeet exponent Kalim Sharafee would like to term it, “God gifted”, but its more than that.
As she continues into the song — “rekhechhi konok mandir-e”, it becomes apparent that it takes years of training and devotion to attain this kind of confidence. Nandita Yasmin’s debut album Bajabo Swarnobeena is a treat not just to the avid Tagore enthusiast; it possesses all the aspects that can charm an average listener.
Nandita’s initiation to music happened at the age of five, under Gano Sangeet artiste Moshad Ali. In 1983 she enrolled in ‘Sangeet Bhaban’ — Kalim Sharafee’s music school. Nandita trained in Rabindra Sangeet under the guidance of Sharafee, Aminur Rahman Nijhu, Sadi Mohammed, Rezwana Chowdhury Banya, Hashi Bishwas and Dr. Mridulkanti Chakraborty.
Though Nandita moved to the United States in 1999, she did not alienate herself from her music. She was active as an artiste and is a familiar face to expat Bengalis.
During a visit to Virginia, US, Nandita’s singing got Mita Haque’s attention. The renowned Tagore artiste asked Nandita, “What are you doing living abroad?”
In 2006, Mita received a call from Nandita who said, “I’ve moved to Dhaka for good.” “Why?” asked Mita, and the response was “To sing. When do I start training with you?”
Sadi Mohammed evaluates Nandita not as a student, but as a fellow artiste. “She is an artiste of high calibre. Many sing but Nandita’s rendition possesses a serene melody that satiates the senses.”
Not an overstatement. Covers of unfamiliar Tagore songs like Matir buk-er majhey bondi jey jol and Madhyadin-er bijon batayan-e are intriguing. The artiste sounds poised to mesmerise, taking the listener on an untried journey to a familiar realm.
Even songs that have been heard and sung a million times or more, like Bhalobashi bhalobashi and Bhalobeshey shokhi nibhritey jatoney sound fresh, innovative.
Nandita subtly utters Ami tokhono chhilem magano gahano ghum-er ghorey, recalling one rainy night, making it the perfect song for every rainy night; her throwing of “shaghano gagano” and “matto prolaapey,” immaculate. In the next song, Shukhoheen nishidin poradheen hoye, she sounds aptly resolute.
Music direction by Sadi Mohammed and arrangement of accompanying instruments by Amit Bannerjee are not experimental. The instrumental arrangement does not sound cluttered, neither does it try to overpower the vocals, and the quality that marks the arrangement is precision.
The album produced by ‘Surer Mela’ marks the emergence of a deft, powerful voice in Rabindra Sangeet genre. Nandita’s homecoming is a gain for both the artiste and music lovers.
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