Up-close with Purbo-Poshchim
Just before the performance, Zubair Malik, the coordinator and leader of the band, in his trendy maroon shirt and his wide smile, spoke to The Daily Star with confidence and conviction. He talked on behalf of his band, and rounded up its experience and ability in a few words. He said that in 2002, his co-players took part in the Benson and Hedges competition; they wanted something purely instrumental. He said, "We felt that local instrument players were being neglected. We began with five members and now we are six, along with guest players.
"The original band consists of Tony Gomes on drums, Ridwan bin Khalid is the acoustic guitarist, Atiqur Rahman plays the electric guitar, while I'm the flautist. The rest comprise of the guest members of fusion music, Aarzoo and Tanzim, on the tabla and ek-tara." Speaking of why the band went in for fusion music rather than anything else, Zubair said that he had learnt classical music from Bari Siddiqui of BTV and Eunaa visiting pianist from Russia. Thus he was into both eastern and western music. He said, "We've played in Dhaka, Rajshahi and Chittagong. So far we've given 20 performances. We call our band Purbo-Poshchim as it indicates the fusion of eastern and western notes. We're struggling, I admit, in the process of our experimentation, we are matching and mixing the different notes."
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. Tracing his passion for fusion music, Zubair said that he had been inspired by a visiting British flautist, Michael McGoldrick, who had come to Dhaka with his band." I'd played duo with him at the Osmany Memorial Hall in 2003. It's from him that I learnt the basic fusion set up."
Purbo-Poshchim has performed in Osmany Memorial Hall, the National Museum, the Fine Arts Institute, DU, the Indian Cultural Centre and Goethe Institut.