Kolkata: One of India’s greatest percussionists, Bickram Ghosh – who was once an accomplice of Pt. Ravi Shankar in his concerts – is about to drum up a storm during the closing ceremony of the ICC World Twenty20 final here at the Eden Gardens on Sunday.
Ghosh, with a contingent of 125 dancers, will showcase Bengal and India on the international radar keeping rhythm as the theme.
It will be India with a bent on Bengal. My concept is India – the spectacle,” said Ghosh in an exclusive interview with this correspondent. He is the director of the show.
How did the idea come about?
A week back, Sourav Ganguly (former India skipper and president of CAB) called me up and we had a meeting in his office. He wanted to do something out of the ordinary for the finale,” added Ghosh, who is also a Grammy award winner.
Ghosh has over 100 albums to his credit but he never pulled off a performance of such epic proportions within a week.
We barely have five minutes. Within that time, we are putting up 125 artistes. It is going to be rhythmic keeping in mind the whole concept of a cricket match. The performance will highlight drumming traditions – from dhak, dhol, mridangam – to dance genres – chhau, odissi, bharatnatyam,” said Ghosh.
The City of Joy saw a tragedy happen on Thursday. An under-construction flyover collapsed in broad daylight killing more than 20 people and injuring several others. Will Kolkata be in a mood to celebrate?
It is a humongous tragedy, but at the same time, this particular match is also a big thing for Kolkata. It showcases Kolkata on the international map. We have to put up a brave act, we have to show that in spite of the setback, we are still operational. We will do it with a sense of prayer,” concluded Ghosh, who will also have renowned sitar player Purbayan Chatterjee along with him on the dais.
