In Kolkata, the winter air serves as a litmus test for musical brilliance. As temperatures dip, only the most captivating performances draw crowds to outdoor venues, where patrons willingly face the chill if the melodies merit it.
Sandipan Banerjee, secretary of the Behala Classical Festival, said this was the first year in which winter conditions became a benchmark for assessing quality of recitals. The four-day festival was held from Jan 11 to 14. A pandal was erected, and the Calcutta Blind School ground was carpeted. “Even so, it was bitterly cold at 10 pm when Pt Ajoy Chakraborty was on stage. Connoisseurs, wrapped in woollens, stayed on to listen.
We received a similar response for concerts by Rahul Sharma, Rakesh Chaurasia and Purbayan Chatterjee. But, if a recital was not engaging, audiences did not remain merely to show support for Indian classical music,” Banerjee said.Pt Tejendra Narayan Majumdar, who will be accompanied on tabla by Ustad Sukhvinder Singh Pinky for his concert on Jan 26 at the Dover Lane Music Conference, said winter conditions can intensify performance anxiety among musicians. “Nazrul Manch is covered, but a gust of cold air enters whenever a door is opened for entry or exit. In such weather, only discerning listeners remain after midnight. As the final performer at this year’s Dover Lane Music Conference, I will take the stage after 2 am.
The concluding item must be engaging to ensure the auditorium remains full,” Majumdar said.Tabla player Anubrata Chatterjee, who has two concerts at Dover Lane, said the mercury drop does not affect performers.
“I perspire on stage even in winter because the energy level is high. Low temperatures have become a convenient pretext for audiences to avoid concerts they do not anticipate will be worthwhile. Networkers, friends and family members of artists, and connoisseurs are the three categories of people who remain for concerts when the weather is unfavourable.
Networkers and the friends and families of artists stay because their reasons for attending are not solely related to the music. For the true connoisseur, the cold is irrelevant only if the music is good; otherwise, it becomes the first reason to leave.” He added that transportation was once difficult, which led many to stay until dawn to catch the first bus home. “Today, if a concert is disappointing, listeners will simply take a cab home. Kolkata’s cold this year has been able to distil good music from the mediocre,” Chatterjee said.
