When Ghoom ghoom chand left one and all in tears

Kolkata: Ghoom ghoom chand, jhikimiki tara, ei madhabi raat... Sandhya Mukhopadhyay's eternal number reverberated amid pin-drop silence at the inaugural programme of Bangla Sangeet Mela at Uttirno Open Air Theatre on Saturday.

The song, a masterpiece by itself, sung by the veteran singer, despite her poor health, was so overwhelming that Abhijit and Jeet Ganguly, who received the special awards, refrained from their own performances. For them and all those present at the event, it was so touching that nothing would match up to the maudlin classic.

A Facebook post from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee maintained: "…A captivating rendition by Sandhyadi, "ghoom ghoom chand, jhikimik tara, ei madhabi raat" enthralled the entire audience."

It not only evoked huge applause but brought the audience to tears. The sheer romance of the number brought back memories of yesteryears for many sitting at the auditorium. The marriage of the impeccable lyrics and the melody of the song left one-and-all spell-bound even after so many years of its compilation.

Mukhopadhyay couldn't turn down the request of the Chief Minister and sang the song after saying that she was still recovering from cough and cold and apprehended that she might not be able to give her best. But as soon as she started singing, the audience and those on the dais stared at her with rapt attention. In her 80s, the magic of her voice carried away those present there to a different world. When the song ended, it took all of them a moment to realise that it was over. All the singers, who were on the dais including Jeet Ganguly and Abhijit gathered around her and touched her feet to seek blessings. They requested the Chief Minister to organise another programme as a mark of respect to Sandhya Mukhopadhyay since it would not be possible for them to maintain the brilliance and the mood with which the veteran had sung the song.

Rabindra Sangeet exponent Dwijen Mukhopadhyay who was also on the dais, supported the others. Finally, the programme ended with all the artistes and recipients of "Sangeet Mahasamman" and "Sangeet Samman" signing Aguner Parash Mani in chorus as a mark of respect to Sandhya Mukhopadhyay.

Eminent music artistes including Rabindra Sangeet singer from Bangladesh Rezwana Choudhury Bannya, Swapan Basu, Pandit Subhankar Bannerjee and Tarun Bhattacharya were awarded "Sangeet Mahasamman" and "Sangeet Samman" was conferred to artistes including Imon Chakraborty, Parimal Bhattacharya, Mayarani Poddar, Swapan Sen, Nimai Soren, Durbadal Chatterjee and Amit Banerjee.