' Music runs in my blood' -- Kiron

Illustration: Mustafa Zaman

How and why did you take up music as your profession?
Music runs in the family. My first guru was my uncle. I then took lessons under eminent composer, Khondokar Nurul Alam for about 14 years in classical music. I also took institutional classical lessons in Krishnanagar, India. Apart from music, I also teach at a school.

From classical to folk must have been a great leap?
Those who are familiar with light classical music, know that thumri, dadra, or geet, are melodious songs with a folk touch. This is why the songs are very popular. So with my classical background, I have used the thumri style with ease in folk songs, which my audience admires greatly. I have tried to follow the footsteps of the great musician Sachin Karta.

How do you view fusion music?
It is totally incomprehensible to me. It is like "khichuri" a mixture of a variety of spices with rice. This can be unpalatable if too much salt, chilli or oil is added. Every genre has its own beauty and I prefer the neat variety where one genre is distinguishable from the other. Composers often try to be innovative but such compositions die an early death.

What attracts your audience?
I prefer singing the "chotul", light folk songs in public. My fans, of all age, love to listen to the timeless songs of Kumar Sachin Dev Burman. While presenting his songs, I often use the nasal sound to give it a Sachin Karta touch.

Why wear the gerua costume of the Bauls?
Shwami Akhkharanando of Ramkrishna Math once urged me to dress in "gerua" which represents the typical Baul singers or bards. It was sometime around 1988-89 when I presented Baul songs in front of a huge gathering at a "Pahela boishak" programme at Chhayanaut. I received tremendous applause and felt that the audience was delighted with my new outfit. Attire plays a very important role for performers. Now if I wear a tail-coat with the folk songs it would seem peculiar but the typical "gerua" outfit matches perfectly with the mood and melody of Baul songs. Many others have tried to imitate the style but have soon retreated, as it was more fashion oriented.

Want to share a hilarious experience?
Out of many interesting incidents, I would share one during our trip to Moscow at a Bangladesh Utsav in 1994. There is a famous park (I can't remember the name though) where every year a musical evening is held during spring. Here people get carried away with music and at times the tradition runs such that people start to bang each other's head with vodka bottles when the listeners reach a certain high. This is exactly what happened while I was presenting the rhythmic song "Nim Tetah Nishinda Titah". It was a strange and unforgettable experience for my teammates and me.