Kolkata celebrates the birthday of Swami Vivekananda on 12th January with a grand annual musical soiree at Vivekananda Hall of the Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture. Vivekananda was a classical musician and composer. Many of his compositions are sung as an integral ritual of the sandhya-aarati at every Ramakrishna Math and Mission the world over. It was his melodious voice that brought him close to his guru Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa who was an avid singer of devotional songs as well. Ramakrishna would go into a trance while listening to young Vivekananda’s soulful singing. For Swamiji, music was the highest form of worship and he proclaimed, “The keynote running through music is, ‘I am He, I am He’ (So-Aham).”

Flautist Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, the final artist of the day this year, has been paying melodic homage every year in an unbroken chain spanning twenty years. Kolkata-based popular vocalist Rashid Khan too has been a regular for several years. Both were featured in the last session of the day-long festival spread over three sessions. While Rashid Khan, accompanied by Subhankar Banerjee (tabla), Ramesh Misra (sarangi), and Jyoti Goho (harmonium), sang raga Pooriakalyan and a bhajan in Keeravani, Chaurasia aided by Samar Saha (tabla) and Sameer Rao (flute) played Maru Behag followed by a short and sweet Jaijaivanti and Jog. The finale, a dhun based on Bengal’s very own beautiful folksong famously known as Bangla keertan, came with all the finer nuances, intrinsic beauty and devotional fervour.