Hour after hour. In words, songs, poetry, or the enchanting world of literary practice. There he effortlessly takes listeners on a journey. Winter, summer, monsoon – every day, following routine, he appears to enliven gatherings intoxicated with melody. He can also sing captivating songs that paint rainbow colors in listeners' minds.
'Why didn't you come, bringing the intoxication of destruction...I die of shame'. Or 'When everyone calls me mad...blessed am I, blessed indeed'. Sometimes it happens that as he sips tea, he brings back nostalgia. 'Then you were twenty-one perhaps, I touched by eighteen...'.
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Yes, he is popular radio jockey Raja. He operates behind the scenes, but there's another dimension to his stage appearances. 'Raja's Poetry Class'. Various programs of different varieties are organized at different times. On December 10, 'Handkerchief, Dust, Poems' was held at Uttam Mancha. A unique presentation in a different format.
A poetry-based production in this city at this time. All our familiar relationships are scattered in various directions. Friends, lovers, college and nostalgia. Under Raja's direction, audiences enjoyed the program titled 'Return Our Colors'. It was quite entertaining too. For instance, 'They are divided into five groups in total. ...We are becoming divided by color. We can no longer remain friends. ...The children's group is white, they taught all colors, how everything blends into white...'.
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Remarkably, spontaneous applause came from the nearly full auditorium when all colors turned white on stage. This was written by Lopamudra Raychaudhuri. Ambience creation and application by Anirban Chaudhuri and Ashis Ghosh. Direction by Raja.
In the final performance, the entire auditorium seemed to drift back to the bygone nineties. Touching upon the politics, cricket, and social context of that era, Raja filled it with some personal feelings through timeless and some new poetry. For twenty long years, Raja has been experimenting with poetry. He keeps breaking himself and rebuilding too. Tathagata Mishra's esraj and Sagnik Samaddar's piano with the poetry brought another dimension to that day's program.
