DilKashi: An Evening that Touched the Heart

Hyderabad: DilKashi is a tricky word. It sits somewhere between charm and ache, literally meaning what draws the heart. Which makes it a kind of word that speaks of longing, and lingers the way songs do. Which is probably why it made sense as the name of the evening of Uttarayan's Parboni 2025. Because what happened on stage was not about performance but more about what slips through in the pauses. The poems, the melodies, the banters, the bits that didn’t always feel rehearsed.

Poet Srijato Bandopadhyay had never been to Hyderabad before. Musicians Raghav Chattopadhyay and Piu Mukherjee had performed here earlier, but this was the first time all three shared a stage in the city. Ghazals were part of the set, yes, and there was that moment when Srijato hesitated, said he couldn’t sing, and then, after some nudging, began Raaz-e-Ulfat in an unplugged voice that surprised even him. But by then, the room was already steeped in Bengali lyrics, songs tied to cinema, loss, letters and longing.

“This is my first time in Hyderabad. I did expect a good audience, but they were brilliant. It is always a warm feeling to take Indian literature, Bengali literature, wherever you go,” he said, standing just off stage after the first half. “We have tried to include something for everyone. Urdu, Bengali, Hindi... Hyderabad has such a deep connection to Shayari and Ghazal. Many great poets have come from this soil, so it felt right to bring those languages together, at least for a few moments.”

And rightly so, a bit was there for everyone as a line from Kesariya Balma moved naturally into Keno take to cheyechi, as Raghab took his lead. Srijato’s poems filled the gaps, and at that moment it felt more like a gathering of a mood usually found in a living room Bengali adda where someone reaches for an instrument and everyone forgets the time. This time, it happened inside the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan’s auditorium in Hyderabad, packed wall to wall.

For most Hyderabadi Bengalis though, this is a rare opportunity to live through these moments. Abhirup and Shreya, a couple residing in Hyderabad for the past five years expressed, "It's rare that we get to hear such big Bengali artists in live, so we thought we would make the most out of it."

However, this transcends the boundary of the Bengali in every way and Sudha Dutta, an attendee explains it the best, saying, “This is an excellent opportunity for Bengalis in Hyderabad. I'm Telugu, married to a Bengali and although I don't know these artists personally, I have loved every moment. The atmosphere, the music- everything is so engaging. I'm looking forward to more songs and intellectual discussions tonight".

Pradeep Kumar Sinha, a seasoned listener, appreciated the lineup, "This combination of three classical artists, each with distinct styles hasn't happened in Hyderabad before. Tonight has been full of delightful and thoughtful surprises as they're all competent in classical music, especially Piu."