In pictures: Chaitown Community hosts Parklife, an evening of original Bengali music

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‘Parklife started five years ago in my Jodhpur Park residency. The name comes from both where it was born and its namesake, the 1994 indie album by Blur. Before I knew it, the small-scale monthly concert series,which began with around 20 heads huddled together in my living room, had evolved into sizable performances across renowned spaces in the city. Chaitown Community and Parklife’s analogous values and the former’s sprawling rooftop space convinced me to host concerts here,’ said Sourjya Sinha, member of Chaitown Community and curator of Parklife. A prolific musician himself, Sourjya also performed self-composed originals such as ‘Chimney’, ‘Phul’ and ‘Baraka’ during the course of the windy evening

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‘This was our third time performing at Chaitown. Being able to play your own music for people who welcome you into their hearts and actually listen with rapt attention is an experience that’s growing rarer by the day. The homeliness here is impeccable,’ said Purab Seal Acharya and Deepraj Chowdhury, who comprise Aabol Taabol. Not only did these childhood friends perform their original Bengali singles such as ‘Golpo Amar’, ‘Chena Sheet’ and ‘Phire Jaa’ but also their unreleased Parklife exclusive, ‘Ek Jibon’

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The evening was also graced by Distorted Chromosomes, an independent multilingual rock band, which recently headlined NRS Medical College’s fest alongside Farhan Akhtar and Fakira. ‘We’re usually distorted, but maybe for this evening you can call us Acoustic Chromosomes!’ said the band, strumming three of their Bengali originals, ‘Hypocrite’, ‘Bujhte Ki Parish’ and ‘Niyom Bhangte Raji’, which celebrate companionship. As they sang a cover of ‘Bhebe Dekhecho Ki’ by Mohiner Ghoraguli to conclude their set, several members from the audience joined in, with many singing its Hindi counterpart, ‘Bheegi Bheegi Si’

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‘At Chaitown, we have a CrossFit gym on the ground floor, where we host community workouts daily. The first floor houses studios for both dance and song. The dance wing offers classes on ballet and contemporary forms, while the music wing offers bi-weekly classes for vocal training, piano and guitar,’ said Rohini Nag (on the left in the first photo), Teem Dirden (next to Rohini) and Soumitra Acharjee, members of Chaitown Community. Although Parklife at Chaitown is a ticketed event held every month, early-bird passes for Rs 300 can be availed about three weeks in advance via social media. Chaitown also allows walk-ins

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‘We’re quite interested to find out more about the content being created at Chaitown and we’d love to visit both Chaitown and Parklife more often. Although this is our first time here, we’re familiar with the space as we’ve come across Chaitown events on social media before,’ said Misum and Fatima, who brought their energetic son, Aydan, along to stir his musicality

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‘At Parklife, musicians sing originals and covers alike. However, all musicians who feature have originals to their name. New bands come and play in front of enthusiastic audiences, which allows us to discover many hidden gems. I got to know about Chaitown about two years back, and I’ve been coming for all their events ever since,’ chimed in Upasya Bhowal, a member of Chaitown and performance poet, who would rather call herself a ‘friend’ of the space

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‘There’s something electrifying about people singing their own music that comes out of their hearts, out of their lived experiences. Today, Chaitown may be one of the only venues in Kolkata that hosts concerts for independent musicians. If there are any young artists reading this, we’d ask you to get a hold of us. We want to give you a spot,’ said Elizabeth Decker, founder-director of Chaitown. Aunty Beth, as Elizabeth is fondly known among Chaitown members, was also hosting a tour group from Texas at this edition of Parklife and was elated to see them tapping their feet to Bengali compositions and relishing quintessentially Bengali snacks

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No festive evening in the city is complete without every Bengali’s absolute necessity, a hearty bhuribhoj. Keeping the hyper-local spirit alive, Chaitown hosted a lavish spread ranging from piping hot ghugni, topped with zesty imli syrup, to crisp Gondhoraj fish fry, served with a side of tart kasundi. However, the highlight of the feast was Aunty Beth’s mishti doi, cups of which were lapped up in an instant. Keeping true to Chaitown’s sustainable nature, all edibles were served in leafware and earthen cups with biodegradable spoons and glasses