singer, songwriter, guitarist and poet

"singer, songwriter, guitarist and poet"

Kabir Suman first self composed album hit the market in 1992 and almost overnight, he became a cult figure, especially among the young people.

Over the last 9 years he has been accepted in West Bengal as a pioneer who transformed the modern Bengali song by making it truly contemporary and global. Till now, he has over two hundred recorded and published songs to his credit, including songs for children, for the theatre and for films. He has written the score for 5 films, and one of them got him the Best Music Director and Best Lyricist award.

He happens to be the only singer-songwriter in the Indian subcontinent with whom the great American folk singer Mr. Pete Seeger performed jointly on two concerts, held in Kolkata in 1996. Mr. Pete Seeger also did the background music for Mr. Sudipto Chatterjee's documentary film on "Suman, Free to Sing". Apart from giving concert tours all over India, Bangladesh, USA and Australia, Suman was invited by the Voice of Germany to compose a ballad in Bangla, commemorating the Tenth Anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, and to perform it before an international audience in Cologne in 1999.

He has recently participated in the first time ever Internet Opera, Virtopera, along with the counter tenor Richard Maxwell and Jane Bogart under the direction of the famous German composer, Mr. Eberhard Schoener.

Anjan Dutt singer, composer, actor and director has been singing for a decade now and Bengal considers him another pioneer in music who talks about modern life and living, the angst of our times. Anjan in his varied career has worn many hats and he still does.

Suman Chattapadhyaya (born 1950), also known as Suman Chatterjee (Bangla: ???? ???????? 09;????), is a Kolkata-based modern Bengali singer-songwriter, guitarist, and poet. He changed his name to Kabir Suman in the early 2000s, after marrying the Bangladeshi singer Sabina Yasmin and embracing Islam. He shot to fame in the 1990s with albums such as Tomake Chai (I Want You) and Base Anko (Sit-and-Draw Contest).

His contemporary urban, socially consicous songs draw upon both Bengali adhunik and Western folk and protest music. His work has been a major influence in the development of the Bengali Jeebonmukhi Gaan ("Songs from Life") genre, which has influenced bands like Chandrabindoo, and has grown to become a major movement in contemporary Bengali music. Most of his songs are played with a synthesiser. Like many Bengali singers, Suman has also recorded albums of Rabindra Sangeet (Songs of Rabindranath), starting in the late-1990s.

Suman's primary training was in Indian classical music and Rabindra Sangeet, and he picked up Western folk forms while living abroad. From 1975 to 1989 he worked as a broadcast journalist working overseas, living in Germany, where he worked for German International Radio, and in the United States, where he worked for Voice of America's Bengali language service. He finished his second contract with German International Radio in 1989, and returned to Kolkata. He released his first album, Tomake Chai, in 1992. Since then he has released over ten albums, his most recent one being Dekhchhi Tokey in 2005.

This is the first time I'm reading about Kabir Suman. Thanks for the articles Qwest ji. Where can I listen to his songs?

Sultans of strings

PRIYANKA HALDIPUR speaks with director-singer Anjan Dutt and musician Kabir Suman who were in the city to perform a concert for an unusual cause.

Two men, as different as macchiato and macher jol, come together to create an evening of musical gala for Bangalore. And all this for the noble cause of raising funds to promote talented upcoming artistes in the country, an initiative of India Foundation of Arts.

We're talking about 'Kolkata Blues,' the concert in Chowdaiah Memorial, where Bengali musicians Anjan Dutt and Kabir Suman jammed together and presented popular Jeebonmukhi songs- that signify the reality of modern-day urban life.
The duo shared their thoughts and ideas in an exclusive with Sunday Herald.

How did you chance upon the name 'Kolkata Blues' for the concert?
Anjan: 'Kolkata' because both Kabir and I are from Kolkata and we enjoy singing in Bengali. It also has to do with the fact that our songs are about the little tragedies and joys of people's lives. Hence the 'blues' bit.

Have you performed for a cause such as this before?

Anjan: We have sung for the cause of cancer patients, patients who require heart transplants etc. But this is the very first time we are performing for alternative art. It's a matter of privilege that we are being associated with alternative music.

Kabir, what was your association with Pete Seeger like?
Kabir: It was a wonderful experience. People in Kolkata were shocked that he had chosen me to perform with a famous personality like himself. (Laughing).

How did 'Virtopera' happen?
Kabir: Five composers from all over the world were chosen to perform in the project, and Schoener picked me to be one of them. 'Virtopera' was about the spirit of the computer in conflict with the human spirit. We recorded in Kolkata, Brazil and Milan.

What is your personal favourite medium to contribute music to?
Kabir: It would be film. Because you can work on time and space here, like you can in no other medium. It is extremely dynamic and makes a tremendous impact on people.

Anjan, how do you manage to devote time to music when you have so much happening on the film front?
Anjan: I became an actor so that I could direct films someday. But I am not really so much into films all the time. I'm quite selective about my projects. After 'Bada Din,' my next film was 'Bow Barracks Forever.' Ironically, singing helps me maintain my quality as a director.

How does it feel, now that 'Bow Barracks...' has earned so much international acclaim?
Anjan: 'Bada Din' did not make it big for many reasons. But 'Bow Barracks...' is one film I'm proud of. I made this film only so I could prove to myself that I am capable of making a "good" film.

What is it like working with your son Neel in your film projects?
Anjan: The music for my projects comes from Neel. He is better at music than I am. We connect through this medium. He understands exactly what my requirements are, so there are not too many disagreements.

What do your future projects involve?
Anjan: I'm working on an Indo-German project tentatively titled 'Berlin is in Kolkata' which is about experimental theatre in Kolkata. It is about five average Germans who will walk the city of Berlin, being guided by people working in a call centre in Kolkata, who have never been to Germany in their life. I am also planning another feature film that will be partly in Bengali and partly in English.

Kabir, what are your future plans?
Kabir: To keep making music. I have been experimenting with music, my voice, writing songs, and their instrumentation. Working with computer software has really opened up a lot of opportunities for me.

Will the two of you be performing together again?
Kabir: Yes, of course. I enjoy working with Anjan, a lot. We are both songwriters and guitar players. Hence there is a similarity in the structure of our performances. Yet we are different from each other. That is simply beautiful.
Anjan: Kabir connects with my kind of music. I feel related to him because of it.

How do you like Bangalore?
Kabir: You have to come to Kolkata to see what "car honks" are all about. Bangalore is an amazingly peaceful place that way. The people too are warm, friendly and unaggressive.
Anjan: Bangalore is so clean and green. That's what I love about it.

i read in another thread..that you were thinking of stopping writing your posts...please dont do that..we love reading your posts..

most of us are are very keen on music ..but didnt get to learn music ,so cant contribute much(some one like me doesnt know how to cut and paste either)

i love listening to songs based on classical music..but dont know a single raaga..doesn't it sound strange...I can't discuss much but can read!! 😳

so keep the posts coming 😃

Thank you Bob da for posting this article. Suman is a very very good singer with a wonderful voice. I love his songs, but as a person he is just 🤢 . I had seen one of his concerts, and he is one of the most ill-mannered, and foul mouthed person I have ever seen in my life. His level of humility is not even zero, it runs negative. I was shocked to see an artist behave the way he did.

He is also famous for torturing his first German wife. A warrant was also issued on his name when he fled to Bangladesh, and married the extremely talented Sabina Yasmeen, and embraced Islam. Since then he has become Kabir Suman.

Originally posted by: ankita31

i read in another thread..that you were thinking of stopping writing your posts...please dont do that..we love reading your posts..

most of us are are very keen on music ..but didnt get to learn music ,so cant contribute much(some one like me doesnt know how to cut and paste either)

i love listening to songs based on classical music..but dont know a single raaga..doesn't it sound strange...I can't discuss much but can read!! 😳

so keep the posts coming 😃

ankita31ji,

You sound pretty knowledgeable and certainly have great writing skills which you have proved already on several occasions through different threads. It would be great if you start doing some home work with some honest effort. I am positive you will do great; you are brilliant with your choice of words so give it a shot. You never know what kind of hidden talent you have on you.

Originally posted by: apparaohoare

Thank you Bob da for posting this article. Suman is a very very good singer with a wonderful voice. I love his songs, but as a person he is just 🤢 . I had seen one of his concerts, and he is one of the most ill-mannered, and foul mouthed person I have ever seen in my life. His level of humility is not even zero, it runs negative. I was shocked to see an artist behave the way he did.

He is also famous for torturing his first German wife. A warrant was also issued on his name when he fled to Bangladesh, and married the extremely talented Sabina Yasmeen, and embraced Islam. Since then he has become Kabir Suman.

Appa Da, Tumi Shob-bola dila

I was about to mention his name change from Suman Chattapadhyaya to Kabir Suman in the early 2000s, after marrying the Bangladeshi singer Sabina Yasmin and embracing Islam.

Kabir Suman is a very interesting man he worked with Voice of America, also he wrote few books he is knows as blues and country styles singer in Bengali, he also work with Nicaragua Ministry of Culture. Ernesto Cardinal requested Kabir to write on the Sandinista' Revolution. Regardless of all his personal life he is a very talented man.

Bob da,

This guy is extremely talented. When he does stage shows, he is completely alone in the stage. He plays all the instruments too. But I just hate his behavior.