MAHALAYA-BIRENDRAKRISHNA BHADRA

Mahisasuramardini (Bengali: মহিষাসুরমর্দ্দিনী,The Annihilator of the Buffalo Demon) is a widely popular early radio programme that has been broadcast since 1932[1] on All India Radio (AIR.) It is a one and half-hour audio montage of Chandipath (chanting from Chandi) recitation from the scriptural verses of Sri Sri Chandi or Durga Saptashati,[2] Bengali devotional songs, classical music and a dash of acoustic melodrama. The program has also been translated into Hindi set to similar orchestration and is broadcast at the same time for a pan-Indian audience.[3] This programme, which began in 1932, is aired every year at day-break on Mahalaya even till today. The programme, which started off as a live-performance has been broadcast in its pre-recorded format since the late nineteen-sixties. However, its great popularity remains undiminished even till today.
This program has almost become synonymous with Mahalaya which is celebrated to usher the Debipaksha lunar fortnight and the Durga Puja . To this day, the whole of Bengal rises up in the chilly pre dawn hours, 4 am at morning to be precise, of the Mahalaya day to tune into the “Mahisasura Mardini” broadcast. Presently the recordings are available as audio cassettes and Compact Disks from HMV-RPG which has obtained the rights from All India Radio. The CD version (as of 2002) contains 19 tracks.
Musical Composition[edit source]

Though the theme is mythical and the mantras Vedic, this program is a landmark composition. It is scripted by Bani Kumar, and narrated by Bhadra while Dwijen Mukhopadhyay, Manabendra Mukhopadhyay (Tabo Achinta....), Sandhya Mukhopadhyay, Arati Mukhopadhya, Utpala Sen, Shyamal Mitra and Supriti Ghosh (Bajlo tomar alor benu) sang in their melodious voices.[10] . The enchanting music is composed by Pankaj Mullick,[11] and the songs are rendered by famous singers of yesteryears, including [] and Arati Mukherjee. As the recital begins, the serene morning air resonates with the long drawn sound of the sacred conch shell, immediately followed by a chorus of invocation, melodiously setting the stage for the recitation of the Chandipath.

Artists

Main Artists

Bani Kumar - Script
Pankaj Mullick - Music
Birendra Krishna Bhadra - Narration
Singers[edit source]
Dwijen Mukhopadhyay
Pratima Banerjee
Shyamal Mitra
Sandhya Mukhopadhyay
Manabendra Mukhopadhyay
Arati Mukhopadhya
Supriti Ghosh
Bimal Bhushan
Utpala Sen
Tarun Banerjee
Krishna Dasgupta
Sumitra Sen
Ashima Bhattacharya
Hemanta Kumar Mukhopadhyay
Shipra Bose (Ogo amar agomoni)



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahisasuramardini_(radio_programme)