Sahana Bajpaie

Sahana Bajpaie , better known as the namesake of a raag (melody mode) in Indian classical music, "Sahana" to peers and music enthusiasts familiar with her work, explores that aspect of Tagore songs in her album - 'Notun Kore Pabo Bole' - a collection of Rabindra sangeet, which came out on March 6, 2007 has created a stir in the music scenario of Bangladesh.

Sahana, born on February 6, 1978. She was brought up in Shantiniketan and started taking music lessons from her father - a Tagore scholar - at a tender age. He taught her singing. She learnt her very first song from him at the age of three “Shokatore oi kadiche shokole” a Rabindra sangeet.Her main inspiration was her father. Her debut album is a tribute to him. Both her parents were professors in North Bengal University.

She was educated in Santiniketan. She spent 20 long years there from 1982 to 2002. According to her, “Growing up in Santiniketan is an enlightening experience”. Sahana trained in Indian classical music and Rabindra Sangeet under Swastika Mukherjee, Bijoy Sinha and Chitra Roy, among others.

Sahana joined BRAC University in September 2005 and currently doing her Masters at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in the UK. She feels that teaching is an immensely rewarding job. It is the most important area where one can make a change not only by teaching but also by showing a way to the students. Sahana sings habitually. In her opinion, she puts the same amount of energy in teaching as well as recording. Music is a form of a passion for her. She plays the harmonica (mouth organ), Tanpura and practices everyday. “Music is a kind of a religion to me. It is the only time I feel spiritual” she says. She wished she could play the harmonium but the teachers at Santiniketan discouraged them, as there is a risk for singers to be dependent on it and thus put less effort.Konica Bannerjee who was one of the greatest singers of Rabindra sangeet also could not play the harmonium.

Her future plan is to continue working with Rabindra sangeet. She wants to learn and sing the unpopular and unsung songs of Tagore. Her intention is to try to make people understand the exclusiveness of Tagore's songs. She wants to break the stereotypical notion of Rabindra sangeet being only for the old people or merely a lullaby. She feels that Tagore's songs are so full of meaning that analyzing them in depth reveals something new everyday. According to her, she is still learning music, literature and life itself. Her message to her fans is, “Keep listening to all kinds of music. It is the only healing power that is left in this world.”

Favorite person: Father Bimal Bajpaie
Favorite foods: Succi, Bengali food
Favorite poems: Wasteland and The love song of J. Alfred Prufrock
Favorite novels: Unbearable lightness of being-Milan Kundera, 100 years of solitude-Gabriel Garcia Marques, Shesher Kobita-Rabindranath Tagore
Favorite arts: Pablo Picasso's “Guernika” and Tagore's paintings
Favorite places: Forests, The Himalayas, London
Favorite time of year: Spring
Songs she sings to herself: “Shokatore oi kadiche shokole” and “I'll be your mirror”
-Velvet Underground