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The Evergreen
Subir Nandi

Subir Nandi's expertise in singing and performing on stage was proved once again in the Pabna Edward College Auditorium as he performed in front of an overflowing audience on the 30th of May, 2011 at the Pabna District Festival for the Celebrating Life Competition. The performer went on to prove his dedication to as to how he went on stage after only an hour's rest after a long tiring journey to attend the function.

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Rafi Hossain

Photo: Anup Aich

Amongst all the songs that I have listened to, by various different artistes, since childhood, whether I understood them or not, I have always been fond of Subir Nandi's works. As far as I remember, he has never performed anything for the sake of performance; rather his works have always portrayed him giving his best to the audience. The songs he has performed over the years are both rich in lyrics and music, but that does not mean that he performs for only the enlightened in the field rather he makes things simple enough, keeping intact his sense of quality of art, for the general people so that they may understand and grasp his performances. His greatness goes to show how he is ever conscious of the quality of work that he always presents. Over the decades Subir Nandi has never fallen below his potential and has maintained the high bar he has set for himself. This he has achieved not by performing as much as he can or whatever has been thrown at him, but by being selective enough in performing only what would be best for the audience and himself.

Subir Nandi and Mohammad Rafiquzzaman on stage at Celebrating Life Festival at Pabna on 30 May 2011

Subir Nandi works in the media for the television, radio and the silver-screen. Even through his extensive busy schedule, he maintains his standards and finds it not to be an option for his work to deteriorate. He believes in being selective of what he does so that it always holds meaning. And that is the reason why he has never fallen off from the level he has achieved in life. It is rare to find examples given by people of songs performed by celebrated and the most popular of artistes, but the same will be able to identify Subir Nandi for his works without much difficulty. This comes from the attribute of him being strong in his principles of performing songs not for the sake of just performing, but to portray the best of quality and meanings underlying in the performances. That is the reason why, not only his fans, but people who generally listen to music can name scores of his songs without difficulty and not be able to name even a few songs performed by other popular artistes. Popular performers have always come and gone, but Subir Nandi has remained and become a living legend in his field.

Subir Nandi was born on November 30, 1953 into a family that made music a necessary part of growing up. His father was a doctor and medical officer at Teliapara Tea Estate, where he and his nine other siblings spent a very lively childhood. All ten of them learnt music from Ustad Babar Ali Khan. Nandi's first lessons were from his mother, who could sing beautifully but never took it up professionally. He used to sit with his siblings at pujas and perform bhajans and other religious songs. Without knowing he fell in love with the songs of history-making musicians in the Indian subcontinent, such as Pankaj Mallik, Saigal, Shondha Mukherjee, Mannadey, who were all regularly played on the gramophone. In 1972, Nandi rendered his first song, 'Jodi Keu Dhup Jele Dai' written by Mohammed Muzakker, who wrote the lyrics of the song 'Ekti Bangladesh' and composed by Ustad Mir Kasem. Subir Nandi married in 1981.
-From the Internet

His expertise in singing and performing on stage was proven once again in the Pabna Edward College Auditorium as he performed in front of an overflowing audience on the 30th of May, 2011 at the Pabna District Tour for the Celebrating Life Competition. The performer went on to prove his dedication to as to how he went on stage after only an hour's rest after a long tiring journey to attend the function. The auditorium has a maximum comfortable capacity of 3,000 people when sitting down on benches. The turn out was at least double that amount. People were cheering the singer on for more and kept demanding performances by calling out the names of the songs.

What had surprised me was how the audience had proven the general idea of people wrong. People say that the turn out at such functions depend on the popularity of the performer. Subir Nandi is definitely known all around, but maybe not as popularly as others. And that is where the anomaly had surfaced; the audience was overwhelming not only in the number of turnout, but how they showed their undying thirst for good quality music. And why wouldn't they? The other thing that surprised me was how Subir Nandi has a fine tuned voice, how he handles it through modulating and projecting it in his performances to make them more intimate to the audience, and how he captivated them at every moment without all the jazzed-up stage antiques used by much more popular and younger artistes. I personally think new upcoming artistes and even those in the field for long can draw examples and learn from the experience and these mentioned attributes of this veteran singer to better their skills. And I think, being the exemplary person that Subir Nandi is, he will not deny anyone of help in these matters.

The art of singing is a form of spiritualism. This was shown not only in his performance but how the audience had reacted with Subir Nandi's every move. When people whistle, it is viewed upon with scorn and disdain. But when the audience was whistling during his performances, there was nothing but reverence and appreciation in their eyes. They were all swaying to the music, as if the singer had spread serenity through into their hearts. They were all clapping with every beat, resounding and making it more profound. I believe Subir Nandi to have reached a level of spiritualism through his singing of music, through his practice of music, and through his love for music. The audience had proved it as they all stood up in standing ovation when he stood up to show their respect for this performer. I don't know if he believes the same as me, but he can truly take music to another dimension through his spiritualism preserved in the art.

Celebrating Life is proud to work with celebrities such as Subir Nandi. The winners of Celebrating Life Lyric's Contests are featured in Celebrating Life District Festivals and Concerts throughout Bangladesh. Celebrating Life 2011's submission deadline is close by. Have you participated? For more information about Celebrating Life, log on to www.celebratinglifebd.com.

A chorus performance at Celebrating Life Festival at Pabna on 30 May 2011