100 yrs of lyricist Gauriprasanna Mazumder who wrote ‘Coffee House er addata...’
Times of India | 6 December 2024
Kolkata: People from various walks of life came together at Uttam Mancha to pay tribute to the legendary lyricist Gauriprasanna Mazumder (1925-1986), whose birth centenary celebrations kicked off on Thursday. Mazumder penned masterpieces for nearly four decades, including Amar gaaner swarolipi lekha robe (1958), Ei poth jodi na sesh hoi (1961), Akash Keno daake (1970), Coffee Houser sei adda ta (1983), and Ami je ke tomar (1986).
The residents of the Ramgarh-Garia area under Kolkata Municipal Corporation's ward 100, where he lived, became part of the centenary celebrations. Some of these residents visited his house, which was decked up for the occasion.
From the Uttam Kumar-Suchitra Sen era to subsequent generations of actors,, including Amitabh Bachchan, Chiranjeet, and Tapas Paul, his pen rolled on through different ages of Bengali cinema.
Composer Suparna Kanti Ghosh, son of iconic composer Nachiketa Ghosh; Saikat Mitra, son of Shyamal Mitra, and Debasish Kumar, mayor-in-council member, KMC were among the dignitaries present at the event.
Suparna Kanti Ghosh, whose composition ‘Coffee House er shey addata' remains a milestone, recalled how the song was written by Mazumder, who also encouraged the former to succeed in his musical career like his father. Singers Srikanto Acharya, Sriradha Bandyopadhyay, and Monomoy Bhattacharya,were among others who rendered his songs at the event.
Mazumder's first song, Badhu go madhumas, was recorded by SD Burman in the early 1940s when the lyricist was a Presidency College student. His father, Girijaprasanna, was a professor at the same college.
Shiladitya Mazumder, the youngest brother of the lyricist, said, "He may have left the mortal world about 38 years ago, but his creations make him immortal. I am glad to see that several youngsters have also joined the celebrations and also rendered some of his hit numbers. Various events will be held in his memory throughout the year."
The lyricist's cousin, Suvaditya Mazumder, said, "There was a burglary at our house in 2007 when many of his manuscripts and gold medals, were stolen. A few of his preserved belongings have been put on display"
In 2012, Sheikh Hasina, formerBangladesh PM, awarded him posthumously the Bangladesh Mukti Yuddha Sammana trophy for his creations Shono ekti Mujiburer theke (Angshuman Roy) and Maa go bhabna keno (Hemanta Mukherjee), which became the anthem of the country's 1971 war of liberation.
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