Songs and complete musician credits at the end.
Amir Khusro’s Mann Kunto Maula has been the subject of multiple adaptations over time. In Tansener Tanpura, composer Joy Sarkar gives the poem a sombre filmi qawwali treatment that occasionally reminds me of Ajay Atul’s Shah Ka Rutba (Agneepath). As far as adaptations of the piece go, there have definitely been better ones, but this one does make for a decent listen all the same, highlighted by S K Basir’s work on bulbul tarang and the lead vocalist whom I miss in Bollywood, Soham Chakraborty. One of the main reasons I loved this album and decided to review it, is the dominant classical flavour throughout the album. Take Tomake Bhalobeshe for instance, where the composer employs the majestic jog raga. Love everything about this song – the raga, the fact that he complements it with the equally grand-sounding pakhawaj on percussion (jog raga and mridangam/pakhawaj are a match made in heaven, really), the seven-beat rhythm, Bubai Nandy’s beautiful flute phrases and the incredible delivery by Jimut Roy and Piu Mukherjee. Roy has an equally excellent solo act in the hamsadhwani-based Shurey Shurey Taakey. I say solo act, but it is effectively a sort of duet with Bubai Nandy on flute – Roy’s voice has an almost Hariharan-esque quality to it in the lower registers. A very happy listen overall, as is the raga’s wont.
Pt. Tushar Dutta, Asmita Kar and Arunita Kanjilal get behind the mic for the haunting Aguun Chhoriye. Based on shuddh basant raga, this one is apparently a Holi-themed composition. Beautifully executed once again – the singers are on top of their game, the use of percussion is fab and there is a rich interplay between sitar, sarod, santoor and flute. Like the previous two songs, this one too ends in a dramatic crescendo, except instead of a vocal one, it is an instrumental outro closing the song in style. Pt. Dutta and Kar come together again to sing the delightful melody in Shey Je Kon Pothe Gyalo that is set to the raga khamaj. The composition derives a lot of its charm from the Bengali folk flavour it incorporates (I wish the percussion had featured a khol – would have made it all the more beautiful). Aside of the two exceptional singers, the song also prominently features sitar player Rahul Chatterjee; it is an extended solo by the man that kicks off the song. The final song, Totodur Prem, stands in stark contrast with the album’s classical soundscape. The pop song makes for pleasant hearing nonetheless, courtesy Somlata Acharyya Chowdhury’s singing, supported on occasion by Jimut Roy.
Indian web series these recent few years have featured some excellent music (I have a long pending action item to make a playlist of the best web series music, that I hope to complete sometime soon). When I do it, Joy Sarkar and lyricist Srijato’s work in Tansener Tanpura will most definitely be part of that playlist. Great soundtrack, this!
Music Aloud Rating: 3.5/5
Top Recos: Tomake Bhalobeshe, Aguun Chhoriye, Shey Je Kon Pothe Gyalo
Tansener Tanpura is a Bengali musical-thriller web series streaming on the platform HoiChoi. Thanks to a good friend, Nilanjan, for recommending this album to me!
Musician Credits
Tomake Bhalobese
Singer – Piu Mukherjee, Jimut Roy
Music Director – Joy Sarkar
Lyricist – Srijato
Arrangements – Joy Sarkar
Pakhawaj/Tabla/Dholak – Joy Nandy, Uday Mukherjee
Flute – Bubai Nandy
Guitar – Joy Sarkar
Programming – Sabuj-Ashish
Recording, Mixing and Mastering – Goutam Basu
Man Kunto Maula
Singer – Soham Chakrabarty
Music Director – Joy Sarkar
Lyricist – Amir Khusrow
Arrangements – Joy Sarkar
Tabla, Dhol – Joy Nandy, Bishwanath Das
Bulbul tarang – SK Basir
Guitar, Saaz – Joy Sarkar
Programming – Sabuj-Ashish
Chorus – Arijit, Deep, Avik
Recording, Mixing and Mastering – Goutam Basu
Aguun Chhoriye
Singers – Pt. Tushar Dutta, Asmita Kar, Arunita Kanjilal
Music Director – Joy Sarkar
Lyricist – Srijato
Arrangements – Joy Sarkar
Tabla, Dhol – Joy Nandy, Uday Mukherjee
Flute – Bubai Nandy
Sitar – Rahul Chatterjee
Sarod – Pratik Shrivastav
Guitar – Joy Sarkar
Programming – Sabuj-Ashish
Chorus – Arijit, Deep, Avik
Sitar recorded by Anirban Sen
Recording, Mixing and Mastering – Goutam Basu
Totodur Prem (Arale Arale)
Singers – Somlata Acharyya Chowdhury, Jimut Roy
Music Director – Joy Sarkar
Lyricist – Srijato
Arrangements – Joy Sarkar
Guitar – Joy Sarkar
Programming – Sabuj-Ashish
Mixing and Mastering – Goutam Basu
Shure Shure Taake
Singer – Jimut Roy
Music Director – Joy Sarkar
Lyricist – Srijato
Arrangements – Joy Sarkar
Tabla – Joy Nandy, Uday Mukherjee
Guitar – Joy Sarkar
Programming – Sabuj-Ashish
Flute – Bubai Nandy
Recording, Mixing and Mastering – Goutam Basu
Shey Je Kon Pothe Gyalo
Singer – Pt. Tushar Dutta, Ashmita Kar
Music Director – Joy Sarkar
Lyricist – Srijato
Arrangements – Joy Sarkar
Sitar – Rahul Chatterjee
Tabla – Joy Nandy
Guitar – Joy Sarkar
Programming – Sabuj-Ashish
Sitar recorded by Anirban Sen
Recording, Mixing and Mastering – Goutam Basu
