Mohiner Ghoraguli

Moheener Ghoraguli (or Mohiner Ghoraguli) was formed by a group of Kolkata musicians led by Gautam Chattopadhyay towards the end of 1974. Initially, they called themselves 'Saptarshi', and after dilly-dallying with various names including 'Teerandaz', 'Gautam Chattopadhyay B.Sc. & Somproday' finally settled on the name 'Moheener Ghoraguli' proposed by Ranjon Ghoshal. The name was borrowed from a poem 'Ghora' by Jibanananda Dash. It is considered by many to be the first Bengali rock band in West Bengal. Around the same time, other Bengali bands such as Souls and Feedback were forming across the border in Bangladesh. Gautam Chattopadhyay had strong political beliefs; in common with many intelligent and idealistic young men of his generation, he was involved in socialist/communist politics during the 1960s and 1970s. (According to former bandmate Abraham Mazumdar, Gautam may have been involved in the Naxalite movement as well.) This political outlook was reflected in the musical output of the band. The 1970s were not a propitious time for an experimental group like Moheener Ghoraguli. It was the heyday of classic Bengali singers such as Hemanta Mukhopadhyay, Sandhya Mukhopadhyay, Shyamal Mitra, etc - soloists who were responsible for creating the canon of adhunik gaan or 'modern Bengali songs'. These were songs that updated the tradition of Tagore and Nazrul. They were traditional in their instruments and arrangements, and traditional in their themes and lyrics. They often appeared for the first time in the soundtrack of Bengali movies before getting wider release. (Today, these songs have become an integral part of mainstream Bengali culture, and enjoy huge popularity among Bengalis of all ages and backgrounds; they are often referred to as harano diner gaan or 'songs from days past'.) [taken from Wikipedia] Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.