As many readers of this blog know, I went to the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur (IIT, KGP) in West Bengal. Years later I visited my alma mater again and wrote about it here. Guess what I found today? Those familiar with Matt Harding's heartwarming dance videos from around the world (Where the Hell is Matt?) will likely relate to what it has inspired the students of IIT KGP to do. (via Pran)
The soundtrack is the same as in Matt's video — a Bengali poem written by Tagore (Praan, or "Stream of Life") and turned into song by composer Garry Schyman and Bangladeshi-American Palbasha Siddique.
A bit of internet surfing reveals that Ms. Siddique performs with a Minnesota band called Mélange. Anyone interested in Indian/Western fusion music (such as myself) might find their music compelling. You can sample their work on YouTube, here.
Posted by: Usha | January 27, 2009 at 08:56 PM
Finally another post about Kgp!!
There are a few other videos about IIT Kharagpur.... but as one of the guys who made the video told me, this is the first acknowledgment that Bondhu( the pan wala) is an important part of life here :)
Posted by: Kapil | January 28, 2009 at 12:24 AM
In the early 90's Shyamal was the official pan(and other) wala for RK and RP hall. Sometimes he was knocked out and his six year old son Bondhu was in charge. Looks like Bondhu is his own entrepreneur now...
Posted by: Govind Menon | February 12, 2009 at 06:42 AM