Faridpur, Bangladesh. 17 January 2013. Habib

1. Shob loke koy Lalon ki jaat

Artist:
Habib Pagla
Composer:
Fokir Lalon Shah
Form:
Baul
Song region:
Kushtia-Nadia

Filmed by Anadi Biswas, Sukanta’s Bangladeshi student at Roopkala Kendro, Kolkata, who had come to meet us in Faridpur from his home in Gopalganj. This is a rare video, because in all our years of work, there is hardly any record of our own process, we have almost never turned the camera upon ourselves. In fact, we don’t usually make video recordings and even when we do, the video only complements the audio. Our voices are recorded of course, because we are part of conversations. There are some stills too, usually me taking photos of the recording process. Sometimes Sukanta will place his recorder somewhere and take photos; occasionally he will go to the extent of recording with one hand and taking photos with the other. Sometimes I will record too. Now with our mobile phones fitted with reasonably good cameras, we make more video recordings than before, but here we are talking about 2013. Anyway, the point is that,  whatever and however we record, we don’t really record ourselves. One big reason is also this that we don’t usually go anywhere as a big group and there is sometimes just the two of us; we also work solo. There is always too much to do and no time to look at ourselves.

This was different. We had a film school student who was trying out his own skills, zooming in on the leaves and fruit as Habib sang Lalon and Salamotbhai walked through the trees.

Self-portrait, Anadi

The other point to make is that, this was a special moment in our field recording work, and it must be read as such. This is not us going to the ‘field’, summoning singers to where we are lodged. and recording them. That is not at all our process. We met Habib several years ago, through Salamot Khan, whom we had met in 2006. We have listened to him for years, often to his same songs and stories. We have zoomed in on him as he have zoomed in on Faridpur–going to the same shops to eat, same songs to listen, same faces to see. ‘Now that I know your face by heart, I see’, wrote Louise Bogan in her ‘Song for the Last Act’. Faridpur is like that for us. Therefore, this was a gathering of old friends and a celebration of our lasting friendship. The place was an orchard of a friend of Salamotbhai. Sanjay Sikdar, our old friend from Faridpur, was with us and he always is.

Paan-biri break

I am uploading this video on the anniversary of Salamotbhai’s passing.

Written by Moushumi on 12 August 2020