Man of the Heart Preview

Preview of "Man of the Heart," a solo-performance on the life and times of 19th century Bengali Sufi mystic and song-maker Lalon Phokir. The play is written and performed by Sudipto Chatterjee, and directed by Suman Mukherjee. It opened in New York's Kraine Theatre on April 27, 2006. In 2007, it was performed in the Los Angeles area in October and then in Kolkata in December. Title Design and Videography: Proshot Kalami. Check out www.lalon.org for more details.

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• Lalon
• Phokir
• Lalan
• Fakir
• Man
• Heart
• Sudipto
• Chatterjee
• Suman
• Mukherjee
• Indiescope
• Proshot
• Kalami

[shobhon]

Truly fantastic. I wish I was there to see the performance. Thanks for sharing on youtube.

How was it received by any non-bengali audience? Did they get a feel of what Lalon is all about. Well then again, I wonder how many bengalis understand him!

Cheers.

[Sudipto]

Thanks for your comments. It has been received variously in the West, with comments ranging from simplistic spiritual adulation for Lalon to dismissive attitudes towards the relevance of such a performance in the Western context. The music, though, has been ubiquitously appreciated. The play hasn't been presented extensively yet for a non-Bengali South Asian audience. Perhaps the reception will be different if presented, say, in Bangalore or Delhi. Also, it's still to be seen in Bangladesh.

[mysticsaint]

beautiful.

thanks for sharing.

[Sudipto]

Thank you. Hope there was a way to present the whole production to the world. Someday, maybe....

[HasanMurshed]

My God what a fascinating! Lalon...the gr8 bengali .. Salam 2 him... Thnx Sudipto

[Sudipto]

Thanks for your comment. Lalon needs not only to be preserved but his words need to be spread too....

[supriyobasu]

Why you have used dholak in some of the songs? I believe it was not an original Bengali rhythm instrument. The dhol which is used in Bengal is played with one stick and one hand. It is called Bangla dhol. The application of khol and dotara is, however, fantastic.

Your performance is superb but I have always been partial to you.

[supriyobasu]

Sudipto,

May be this production will be able to make Lalon and his work known outside Bengal. But I have a feeling that the English language has taken away part of emotion from the production.

Supriyo

[chainsawmax]

this is EXTEMELY touching. I am glad I am getting to know more about Lalon. thanx a lot for this, Sudipto!

[Sudipto]

But the Dhaak you're mentioning is what happened to it, or how it was received in Kolkata for "baroaari" occasions. It was and still remains a legitimate rythm instrument that quite typifies Bengal.