Moheener Ghoraguli

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Moheener Ghoraguli or Mohiner Ghoraguli (Bengali: মহীনের ঘোড়াগুলি) is a Bengali indie-rock group from Kolkata.

Established in the 1970s, it was one of the pioneers of rock music in the Bengali language, and although it failed to make much of an impact at the time, its music has since gained a wide following in modern-day West Bengal and Bangladesh.

Background information:

Origin: Kolkata, India
Genre(s):Baul Jazz Progressive rock
Years active: 1976—1981 and 1995—1999
Label(s): Gathani, Hindusthan Records, Bharati Records, Asha Audio

Members
Gautam Chattopadhyay (d. 1999)
Pradip Chattopadhyay
Biswanath Chattopadhyay
Ranjon Ghoshal
Abraham Mazumder
Tapas Das
Tapesh Bandopadhyay
Raja Bandopadhyay

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', 'Nogor Shongkeerton' finally settled on the name 'Moheener Ghoraguli' proposed by Ranjon Ghoshal. The name was borrowed from a poem 'Ghora' by Jibanananda Das.

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'.)

In such a conservative climate, Moheener Ghoraguli, with its unorthodox musical compositions and strange choice of song themes, failed to gain much of a fan base. Its songs dealt with everyday topics -politics, poverty, injustice, revolution, love, loneliness, even begging and prostitution. (One song, though recorded almost twenty years later, Bangali Korechho Bhogoban-rey ('Lord you made us Bengali') was a comparative examination of the traits of different cultures - American, British, French, German and Bengali!)

The band recorded with Western instruments and also experimented in a variety of musical styles, some of which must have jarred with the sensibilities of its audience. Today, these compositions sound quite contemporary, leading many to conclude that Moheener Ghoraguli was indeed ahead of its time. The band freely borrowed elements from baul shongeet, the folk music of rural Bengal . It can therefore lay claim to be the original Bengali folk-rock band. Many bands since Moheen have adopted similar innovations, among them Feedback, Dolchhut and Bangla.

The group played together till 1981 and was then dissolved. Its music too was largely forgotten. Then in the mid-1990s, a decade and a half after its dissolution, Gautam Chattopadhyay decided to revive Moheener Ghoraguli. The original members all had professional commitments now, so Gautam decided to put together a new lineup, composed mainly of young musicians.

The first album issued by the new-look Moheener Ghoraguli was a compilation called Abar Bochhor Kuri Porey ("Again, After Twenty Years"), released at the Kolkata Book Fair. It included a number of original classics from the 1970s, as well as songs recorded by the new lineup. Although listeners were initially slow to catch on, the album proved to be a hit, and it introduced the band to a new generation of music-lovers. Gautam Chattopadhyay finally saw his music gain the popularity and critical recognition that had eluded his band in the 1970s. Several other successful compilations have followed since the first one. Both in their native West Bengal and in Bangladesh, Moheener Ghoraguli is now a much-admired band.

Gautam's death in 1999 was sudden. After returning from a location shooting of his last film Rong Bin, which was never completed, the next day he went to the Indropuri studio to meet his longtime cinematographer friend and colleague, Vivek Banerjee and there he collapsed and died of a heart attack. An entire generation of budding musicians who had been popularized by Gautam in Kolkata mourned his untimely death and a tribute album "Moni chara shunno laage" (We feel empty without Moni) was released; it should be noted here that Moni was Gautam's nickname.

The name of the band itself is a strange one. The literal meaning of Moheen'er Ghora-guli is "Moheen's horses". While this obscure phrase puzzles many of the band's fans, it is actually taken from a poem Ghora ('Horses') by the great modernist Bengali poet Jibanananda Das. The second line of the poem is:

Moheener ghoragulo ghash khae Kartik'er jyotsna'r prantorey

loosely translated as:

"Moheen's horses graze on the horizon, in the Autumn moonlight"

One of the band's most popular songs, Bhalobashi jyotsnae, is a tribute to the natural beauty of the Bengali countryside; the influence of Jibanananda's pastoral poetry is evident throughout the song.

There are other parallels: Jibanananda broke with the literary tradition of his time and introduced modernist themes and diction to Bengali poetry. To some extent, Moheener Ghoraguli attempted to do the same for Bengali popular music.

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Original lineup:

* Gautam Chattopadhyay (Manik a.k.a. Moni-da to his younger siblings) - voice, lead guitar, saxophone, lyrics
* Abraham Mazumdar - piano, violin
* Pradip "Bula" Chattopadhyay - bass guitar, flute
* Ranjon Ghoshal - lyrics, emcee, visuals, media relations
* Biswanath "Bishu" Chattopadhyay - drums, bass violin
* Tapas "Bapi" Das - voice, guitar
* Tapesh "Bhanu" Bandopadhyay - voice, guitar (till 1978)

Later Members:

* Raja Banerjee - Guitar (1978 onwards)

After Tapesh Bandopadhyay left the band in 1978, he was replaced by Raja Banerjee. Raja went on to record the third Moheen album Drishyomaan Moheener Ghoraguli with the band and performed in numerous concerts till the band was disbanded.

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* Shongbigno Pakhikul O Kolkata Bishayak (Ruffled Feathers and on Calcutta) (1977), (Bengali: সংবিগ্ন পাখিকুল ও কলকাতাবিষয়ক)
* Ajaana UDonto bostu ba Aw-Oo-Baw (Unidentified Flying Object or U.F.O) (1978), (Bengali: অজানা উড়ন্ত বস্তু বা আ-উ-ব)
* Drishyomaan Moheener Ghoraguli (Visible Horses of Moheen), (Bengali: দৃশ্যমান মহীনের ঘোড়াগুলি)
* Aabaar Bochhor Kuri Pore (Again, After Twenty-odd Years) (1995), (Bengali: আবার বছরকুড়ি পরে)
* Jhora Somoyer Gaan (Songs of Times Past) (1996), (Bengali: ঝরা সময়ের গান)
* Maya (Illusion) (1997), (Bengali: মায়া)
* Khyapar Gaan (Songs of the Loony) (1999)
* Aabaar Bochhor Kuri Pore extended CD re-release (1999), (Bengali: আবার বছরকুড়ি পরে)

N.B. The corresponding English names are literal translations, and not names under which the albums were released.

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The original Moheen lineup performed consistently over the period 1976-1981 throughout the city of Kolkata. Some of their notable performances were at:

* Jogesh Mime Academy (1977)
* Star Theatre (1978)
* Max Mueller Bhavan (1979)
* Rabindra Sadan (1979)
* St. Paul's Cathedral (1980)
* Calcutta International Jazz Festival (1980)
* Calcutta School of Music (1981)

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* First Rock Concert - Remembering Mohiner Ghoraguli (2007)
* Abar bachhor Tirish pore - Anandabazar Patrika and Levis proudly presents "Filharmonic Orchestra-r shathe Mohiner Ghoraguli" on the 5th of January, 2008 at Nicco Park

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Shongbigno Pakhikul O Kolkata Bishayak-1977-Gathani Records

1. "Hai Bhalobashi" (Bhalobashi jyosna-e kaashbonay ChhuTtay)
2. "Shongbigno Pakhikul" (Runway-juDay PoDay aachhe shudhu Keu nei shunyota)
3. "Kolkata Kolkata"(Bheshe aashe kolkata, kuwasha-tulitay anka...)
4. "Maroon Shondhyaalok" (Din cholay jaay, shondhyabelay...)


Ajaana UDonto bostu ba Aw-Oo-Baw-1978-Hindusthan Records

1. Ajaana UDonto bostu ba Aw-Oo-Baw (Aadho aalo aandhaaray, kono ek nawgoray...)
2. Shudhijon Shono (Shudhu Aaj Noye Protidin)


Drishyomaan Moheener Ghoraguli-1979-Bharati Records

1. "Ayee Surey Bohudurey"
2. "Chaitrer Kafan" (Je gechhe bonomajhe...)


Aabaar Bochhor Kuri Pore-1995-Asha Audio

The tracks are listed below with the respective singers mentioned alongside.

1. "Porashonar jalanjali"— Lakkhichhara
2. "Dhandhar thekeo jotil tumi" — Composed & Sung By Subrata Ghosh, Jayjit Lahiri
3. "Katha dia bandhu" — Anup Biswas, Badal Sarkar
4. "Elo ki e samay" — Antara Chowdhury
5. "Ganga" — Rituparna Das, Chandrima Mitra, Parama Banerjee, Prabir Das
6. "Ami dan dikete" — Surojit Chattopadhyay
7. "Akashe chharano megher kachhakachhi" — Dibyo Mukhopadhyay
8. "Prithibita naki" — Krosswindz

The 1999 re-release by Asha Audio on CD had seven extra songs, most of which were re-recordings of songs from the earliest Mohineer albums. These seven songs were the following:

1. Shono shudhijon
2. Ghore pherar gaan
3. Cricket
4. Taake joto tarai duure
5. sobai to insaan
6. sattola bari
7. paakhider shuure gaan

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Jhora Somoyer Gaan-1996-Asha Audio

1. Manush Chena Dai - Subrata/Boni (Music & Lyrics: Joyjit Lahiri, Subrata Ghosh)
2. Shongbigno Pakhikul - Boni (Music & Lyrics: Moheener Ghoraguli)
3. Gan-Mala
1. Kisher Eto Tara - Rituparna/Chandrima (Music & Lyrics: Arunendu Das)
2. Gaibo Shudhu Gaan - Subrata/Boni/Rituparna/Chandrima (Music & Lyrics: Gautam Chattopadhyay)
3. Ke Ke Jabi Re - Subrata/Boni/Rituparna/Chandrima (Music & Lyrics: Arunendu Das)
4. Binita Kemon Achho - Neel (Music & Lyrics: Moheener Ghoraguli)
4. Shara Raat - Subrata/Boni/Neel (Music & Lyrics: Arunendu Das)
5. Shei Phuler Dol - Rituparna/Chandrima (Music & Lyrics: Gautam Chattopadhyay)
6. Moymonshingho Gitika - Anup Biswas/Badal Sarkar (Lyrics:Traditional, Music: Gautam Chattopadhyay)
7. Tomay Dilam - Subrata (Music & Lyrics: Joyjit Lahiri, Subrata Ghosh)
8. Amar Priya Cafe - Gautam (Music & Lyrics:Gautam Chattopadhyay)

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Maya-1997-Asha Audio

1. "Hay Bhalobashi" - Raja/Boni/Rituparna/Gautam Chattopadhyay (Music & Lyrics: Moheener Ghoraguli)
2. "Jokhon Dhoa Meghe" - Subrata (Music & Lyrics: Joyjit Lahiri, Subrata Ghosh)
3. "Dishehara Amar Mon" - Rituparna (Music & Lyrics: Arunendu Das)
4. "Dokhin Khola Janalay" - Ritika/Debojyoti (Music & Lyrics: Debojyoti Misra)
5. "Koto Ki Korar Achhey Baki" - Boni (Music & Lyrics: Gautam Chattopadhyay)
6. "Ei Muhurtey" - Raja/Gautam Chattopadhyay/Boni (Music & Lyrics: Gautam Chattopadhyay)
7. "E Ki Kotha Shuni Hay" - Lokhkhichhara (Music & Lyrics: Tapas Das, Gautam Chattopadhyay)
8. "Bhikhkhetey Jabo" - Neel (Music & Lyrics: Arunendu Das)
9. "Telephone" - Gautam Chattopadhyay (Music & Lyrics: Gautam Chattopadhyay)
10. "Jao Chhere Chole" - Boni (Music & Lyrics: Neel Mukherjee)
11. "Amader Sure Gaichhe Batas"
12. "Ghuchuk Rater Sheshe"
13. "Shune Nao Shishirer"
14. "Samay" (Music & Lyrics: Moheener Ghoraguli)
15. "Oi Dure Jharnar Paye"


Khyapar Gaan-1999-Asha Audio

1. Shono Shudhijon (Music & Lyrics - Moheener Ghoraguli)
2. Ghare Feraar Gaan - Parama Banerjee
3. Cricket
4. Takey Joto Tarai Durey Durey - Tapas Das (Music & Lyrics - Tapas Das)
5. Shobai To Insaan
6. Saat-tala Bari - Pradip Chattopadhyay (Music - Pradip Chattopadhyay, Lyrics - Kamal Chattopadhyay)
7. Paakhider Surey Gaan - Bonnie
8. Bangali Korechhe Bhagoban - Gautam Chattopadhayay
9. Tai Janai Gaaney (Bhalobashi Tomay)