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Kanakchapa and her musical journey

Karim Waheed
I'VE always been a devotee of "pure music", gleams Kanakchapa. Her euphonic voice, Lata-esque singing style and memorable songs have soothed the audience for over two decades and in recognition of her talent, she has been honoured with two National Awards. One in 1995, for her song Koto Manush Bhober Bajarey from the movie Love Story and another in 2001 for the song Ei BukeyBoichey Jamuna from the movie Premcr Taajmahal.
So, what exactlydoes she mean by "pure music”? "Pure music can be music of any genre, be it folk, Tbgore songs, Nazrul songs, even some modern songs but it has to be straight from the heart. Pure music can never stem from commercial intentions. It has to be altruistic, real and the listener must be able to relate to the music. Meaningless, taWdry songs that arc only meant to priwide the listener with cheap thrills, can never be pure," explains Kanak.
Reminiscing on her career, she says, "My first performance for BTV was in 1984. After that I received offers to do playback for movies. The first movie I sang for was Bidhata and 1 did playback for four or five other movies. However, there was a lull over the next few years and I'm not sure why. My career resumed after that unwanted break and so far I think I've done 1400-1500 film songs, as well as several music albums."
A modest Kanak says that none of her own songs can be considered as her favourite. According to her, songs by Shubir Nandi, Samina Chowdhury and Kumar Bishawajeet are her favourites. She also loves
songs by Manna De and Lata Mangeshkar. "I started listening to Norah Jones and Lopez's songs as my children listen to those songs and! got hooked," smiles Kanak.
What is her take on the popular
complaint that nowadays we don't hear good songs like the ones from yesteryears? "There is some truth to that but I think most people are just being too quick to judge and in some cases are just nostalgic. The golden
era of Bangla music had definitely seen some gems of songs but that doesn't mean every song composed now is trash," Kanak retorts.
"Culture and mass taste are constantly changing. These factors have lives of their own and that's how it should be. For example, do most Bengalee girls know that the way women wear sarees now was introduced in the early 1900s by the women folk of the Tagore family?" she adds.
Kanakchapa has also performed a rare feat in the musical- arena. She has rendered a lot of songs by legendary male artistes. "Itwasarisk I was willing to take and people seemed to like my rendition of the songs," she says.
Is there anyone particular in her life that has inspired her and stood by her through thick and thin? "Definitely my husband Mainul Islam Khan, who is a music composer. He has always motivated and supported me throughout my career."
Her most recent album, Ke Jashrey is a collection of SD Burman songs. "I have tried my best to render the songs with perfection, as I simply couldn't take Sachin Karta's songs lightly. I hope 1 have done justice to the songs and that music lovers will enjoy thealbum."
Does she have any regrets? Only one- that our artistes are mostly underrated and under-utilised despite ample talent in the musical arena.