Going back to an old value system, musically

This is a music album with a difference. Singer Gouranga Chandra Rudra's second album 'Shathi Koro Boike Tomar' is a delightful potpourri of modern Bengali songs that talk about the loss of innocence in society, a lost childhood, and the need to restore the dying values of society, including the love of books. The arrangement of music has been done by noted accordion player Shanoli Sen. The album was launched recently by eminent artiste Bijoylakshmi Burman in the presence of Tarun Goswami and Shanoli Sen.

The theme song 'Saathi Koro Boike Tomar' has been penned by Samar Kumar Singha. Rudra says that music runs in the blood of his family. The son of Khudiram Rudra, Gouranga got his first training at the age of 12 years from Nayantara who was a Jatra singer. Subsequently, he had seven teachers but his lifelong inspiration has been the legendary music composer and singer Shyamal Mitra. Rudra's only message is that society is getting increasingly complicated and complex. "Why do we encounter so much divisiveness in life?" Three songs have been penned by Rudra and one by his wife Archana Rudra.

The CD has been produced by Gathani. Acoustically, there are innovations like the use of dotara, mandolin and Bangla dhol. Also, the chorus has been used in many songs of the album. "The songs have a lot of nostalgia in it. They remind of the old but golden tunes of the retro era. Also, these songs provide a valuable insight into the problems prevailing in our society", summed up Shanoli Sen.