Bangladeshi Artist on Rice Radio

HOUSTON: Bangladesh, a country unexplored by many westerners took center stage on ktru’s Navrang show on Saturday,  April 25. Houston based Bangladeshi artist Suparna (Rupa) Ghosh shared her Bangladeshi essence and enthusiasm with Houstonians. Rupa Ghosh a Rabindranath Tagore aficionado was at ktru with her Bangla edition of the Nobel laureate’s Geetanjali.

Rupa Ghosh originally from Chittagong, Bangladesh, shared her educational and music background on the Navrang show hosted by Varsha Vakil. Rupa Ghosh’s musical journey started at the age of five under the guidance of Sri Nirmalandu Chowdhury. Her formal Hindustani classical training was under the tutelages of Ustad Nirod Baran Barua of Bangladesh and Pandit Manas Chakraborty of Kolkata, India. She later refined her musical taste and dedicated it to Tagore’s work. To hone her passion for Tagore’s poetry she traveled to Shantiniketan, India.

Varsha Vakil a true arts and culture enthusiast facilitated Rupa Ghosh and her team to paint a colorful picture of Bangladesh. This helped ktru listeners to visualize Bangladesh’s serene lifestyle surrounded with coconut trees and the rich culture portrayed by the noted poet Nazrul along with Tagore’s heart-wrenching poetry. Rupa Ghosh’s fascination for Tagore was summarized in a simple answer “Tagore in his poetry addresses my personal feelings”.

The young Surangan music school students accompanying Rupa Ghosh confidently expressed their pure love for Bangladesh. They chatted heartily with the amicable Varsha who eased them for a candid dialogue which resulted in a magnificent journey amidst giggles and glee through dancing peacocks and the enchanting seasons of Bangladesh.

Houston’s South Asian artists merit Varsha’s dedication to music as a boon to their talent. Artists are becoming more aware of ktru’s platform only after Varsha’s affiliation to ktru’s specialty show Navrang. Rice radio presents diverse genres of music through their specialty shows.

Navrang show website is navrang.ktru.org. Varsha can be reached by email at ktru@ktru.org.