Lyricising humanity

Sanjeeb Chowdhury

One of the duo that makes up the famed musical band Dalchhut, Sanjeeb Chowdhury has recently released his first solo album Swapnobaji. The album has already earned huge appreciation of his fans despite the fact that most of the songs of the album are not written by Sanjeeb.

Asked why the solo comes so late--especially when Bappa, his teammate, already has several titles to his name--Sanjeeb says that he could not make it because he could not manage enough time. 'Like any other artiste I've also had dreams to make a solo album. And the album was supposed to come out much earlier. I made the contract with Sangeeta about two years ago. But due to my professional engagements--as you know I am a journalist too--and other factors, I couldn't squeeze out enough time,' Sanjeeb explains. 'And of course I am the only one to blame for the delay,' he confesses.

What would strike any Sanjeeb-fan about his solo Swapnobaji is the scanty number of lyrics of Sanjeeb's own. Only two songs--Shamudra Shantan and the titular Swapnobaji--are written by him in this album, whereas in the Dalchhut-albums one would find most of the lyrics are Sanjeeb's. 'I haven't been able to write lyrics for long. Perhaps this is what they call "writer's block"--and I'm now going through that awful phase,' Sanjeeb says. 'And this too delayed the release of my solo. For, I wanted to make an album of my own in the true sense of the word--I always craved for an album containing my lyrics and tune.'

Sanjeeb wrote the song Swapnobaji in the late '80s--'around '87-'88. I didn't know how to express my anguish in my songs, but I always wanted to convey my feelings in my lyrics--my dissatisfaction and agony,' says Sanjeeb. The interesting information about the 'angry' song is that it is actually a part of his short story Rush Print published by Bangla Academy in a short story collection. At the time Sanjeeb wrote the song, the whole country was fighting hard against the existing autocratic regime. Sanjeeb also took active part in that mass revolution and often performed the song at the concerts. 'In '91 I performed the song before hundreds of thousands of people, and that still remains the most exciting moment in my life,' Sanjeeb says. The songs of Swapnobaji have, however, suited Sanjeeb's taste and nature of music. The lyrics are wonderful, conveying a message.

The latter albums of Dalchhut will surely appear more toned-down to one who has heard their first album Ah! But why has this happened? Has Sanjeeb's feeling become less concerned about the anomalies of society now? Sanjeeb however does not agree. He says, 'The condition is worsening in the cultural field--you cannot do songs like those in Ah! at a time when the country is initiating laws like the Blasphemy Act! The country is deteriorating fast--everyday there are news of killings, and terrible ways of death--they are burning people! They are fighting to declare the Ahmadiyyas non-Muslims! What about the Hindus or Christians or the Buddhists?' he questions.

Sanjeeb's education line has interesting twists and turns. He secured a place in the merit list in the SSC exams. And it would sound absurd that he was expelled from his college for some 'disciplinary reasons'! Later when he entered university with an excellent entry point in Mathematics, none of his teachers believed, that he would casually miss the opportunity of scoring a First Class ! 'I needed a subject that would let me bunk classes and wouldn't make me cram notes for passing the exams,' says Sanjeeb. And the youth's mathematics career ended soon as he changed his subject in Honours.

Sanjeeb is not only a lyricist, he often weaves them into tunes. Almost all the songs in Swapnobaji are tuned by Sanjeeb. 'There are three wives', he cuts a joke. 'The lyric, the tune and the music. I have two in my possession. Bappa has eloped with the third!'