ভারতবর্ষের সন্ধানে: চিত্তরজ্ঞন শিকদারের গল্প

(In the search of Bharatbarsa: Story of Street Musician Chittaranjan Shikdar)

Authorship: Kunal Konar, Consultant (BD & Analytic Hydrology)

Note: I have published this story in LinkedIn about 5 months ago (middle of December 2024) in a sudden bout of euphoria in front of a well known Mall of Kolkata.

What is Bharatbarsa? How does She looks like? What is Her sound? Her color? Her spirit? Her people? -- These are the questions that have been embedded in my mind since my childhood. So I started to try and hear her stories since my childhood. Now, in the mid-way of my professional career, probably Bharatbarsa started to sing back to me.

Meet Street Musician from Kolkata, Chittaranjan Sikhdar. A permanent resident of Daspara, Mukundapur, Kolkata -- 700099.

When I discovered him, he was completely immersed in his own world of flute. And the tune was one my all time favorite Bangla Folk Song:

তোমরা কুঞ্জ সাজাও গো

আজ আমার প্রাণনাথ আসিতে পারে ...

Chittaranjan reveals to me that he used to be a unskilled worker and then met with a tragic accident which made him unfit for any physically labor intensive tasks. So he took up the flute -- master the craft via his guru and then became professional!! What an inspiring Character. He didn't complain; he didn't beg. He adapted and he innovated and completely re-did himself to sustain his family.

Now he sings in parties, functions and in front of bustling malls in the City of Joy. His Contact Number is: +91-9062006960. And anybody interested in his talent or his stories, may contact him via this number.