Folksongs by Pandit Ramkanai Das will be held at Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre (IGCC)

Folksongs by Pandit Ramkanai Das will be held at Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre (IGCC)

An evening of folksongs by Pandit Ramkanai Das will be held at Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre (IGCC) in city’s Gulshan at 6:30pm on January 11.

It will be organized by Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre in association with the State Bank of India in Bangladesh.

Pandit Ramkanai Das is a legendary folk music maestro of Bangladesh. His was born in Sunamgunj in 1935 and brought up in a traditional music loving family to father Rashiklal Das, and mother, Divya Mayi Das, both of whom were folk singers, lyricists, and composers.

The folksinger is also one of the best exponents of Hindustani Classical Vocal Music, especially the Kheyal, in Bangladesh.

Pandit Rampanai trained in Hindustani Classical Vocal Music under Kalimohan Chakrabarty and in Tabla under Shri Shurendramohan Sutradhar.

In 1967, he commenced his musical career as a Tabla player and a regular performer of classical, semi-classical, modern, and Nazrul Sangeet exponent for the Sylhet Radio.

He has won admiration by accompanying prominent artists such as Ustad Bahadur Hussain Khan (Sarod player), Ustad Amanat Ali Khan, and Ustad Fateh Ali Khan on the Tabla.

However, since he was determined to become a full-fledged Classical vocal artist, he relinquished playing the Tabla and underwent intense training for twelve years in Hindustani Classical Vocal Music under the guidance of Pandit Umesh Chandra Roy.

He has released several albums on folksongs.

Pandit Ramkanai Das has also made remarkable contribution to Bangla music and literature by collecting lost and forgotten songs of Bangladesh and recording them with their original lyric and tune.

Pandit Rampanai received different awards for his contribution to Bangla music and literature.

The programmes of traditional folksongs will be open to all.