Shobha's legacy continues....

Samina De (L) with late Shobha Gurtu

Samina De (Urmi) is one of Shobha Gurtu's dedicated disciples. She bestowed upon Samina the rich wealth of her knowledge and experience.

As a mark of her devotion to the memory of her deceased guru and to commemorate her first birth anniversary after death, Samina performed a memorial concert for Shobha Gurtu at the German Cultural Center, Dhaka, recently. This special thumri evening was brought to the thumri aficionados courtesy Unilever Bangladesh Ltd. Samina's technique was appreciated by the audience.

Samina launched into her performance with a rendition of Rabindra Sangeet--Amar matha noto korey dao hey. Samina believes that Tagore's verses are applicable to all moods. Madan Lal Sisodia from Delhi was on the tabla and Suneel Das complemented the performance on the violin. Samina has a unique way of captivating an audience. In between her songs, she shared glimpses of history and some very personal stories regarding the songs she rendered and her 'Guru' or 'Guru Ma', Shobha Gurtu as Samina addressed her.

Before she progressed to thumris, she did a bandish on raga Eman. According to her Guru Ma, "If thumri is the cream, then classical music or raga is the milk and one has to simmer the milk well to obtain pure cream." Thumri is meant to entertain. Samina elaborated that thumri is mainly of two kinds Bol Banao which has a slow tempo and Bol Baat, compositions with faster rhythm. The latter form was the norm amongst the exponents of classical dancers who used to perform mujras, and they kept this culture of thumri alive. A brilliant dadra Mora saiyyan khabariya na li followed.

Samina continued with a very eminent Begum Akhter composition Chha rahi kaali ghata. Samina also did renditions of Jhula which celebrates the festival of Teej in Rajasthan, Saawan ke ritu aayo re, a bhajan composed by Shobha Gurtu Maaro pranaam and Koyeliya mat karo pukaar. Samina ended with raga Bhairavi where she gave a moving rendition of Tumhaare yaad aansu ban kay aayi as a tribute to her Guru Ma.

Samina De, a regular classical singer of All India Radio and Doordarshan, is a former student of Chhayanaut. Seeking to upgrade her musical skills, she moved to India in 1982. Her passion for thumri was insatiated till she acquired the Indian classical legend, Shobha Gurtu, as her thumri guru. From 1997 onwards till Shobha's demise, Samina remained as one of her true devotees.