Happy Birthday, Salil Da!

A Tribute to the Legendary
Salil Chowdhury on his 85th Birthday

November 2010 marks the 85th birth anniversary of one of the greatest musicians India ever produced - Salil Chowdhury, the self-trained Bengali composer, music director, poet-lyricist and activist who had shaped Bengali popular music and left an indelible stamp on Bollywood songs. From tiny tots to the grannies and grandpas, Salil Chowdhury's melodies have touched every music lover, not only in India and Bangladesh, but around the world.

Early Life
Salil-Da, as many called him fondly, was born in Sonarpur, (24 Parganas) in West Bengal on November 19, 1925. He spent most of his early years in the verdant hillsides of Assam, where his father was a forest-officer. Salil was exposed to music, musicians and musical instruments right from his childhood. He trained himself on the flute, piano and violin and was introduced to Western classical music, particularly Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, and Chopin, as well as traditional North Indian classical music at a very early age.

When Calcutta Became Kolkata

I wrote this article on January 7, 2001 for a very popular American web site - now part of the New York Times Company. Originally entitled "New Name for a 'Dying City'", it was featured as a top story on the homepage, and I remember receiving a flurry of comments - via email. It's a rather long article, but captures a bit of history and all the important news and events around the rechristening. At the end of it, don't miss what the Bengali intelligentsia - Mrinal Sen, Mahashweta Devi, Sunil Gangopadhyay, Buddahdev Guha, Shankar, et al - had to comment on the name change.

Calcutta has ceased to stay as Calcutta this New Year. Literally so! 'Calcutta' - the name of world's 10th largest metropolis - will now go down permanently in the pages of history, to be replaced by 'Kolkata', the Bengali name of the city. The renaming of the erstwhile Capital of India and the present Capital of West Bengal has been made official.

It's Official!
On the 1st of January 2001, the West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharya announced that the State Capital 'Calcutta' has been officially renamed 'Kolkata'. Finance Minister Asim Dasgupta said that all official communications would now carry the new name - with effect from January 1, 2001. Earlier, the CM, reacting to the Central Government's decision to accept the State's proposal to rename Calcutta, greeted the residents of the city, saying: "Kolkata has returned to Kolkata!"