ARINDAM GANGULY, OP
elody is popularly used across Orissa as a term referring to a clutch of vocalists and instrumentalists who perform in live shows in festival seasons. The season is just about starting and is set to continue till New Year. This is the season of devotion and merriment. The tradition of melody group performances during seasons like Ganesh Puja and Durga Puja has not lost its luster over the years. They are around, regaling audiences, even as many other forms of mass entertainment have sprung up. In cities like Cuttack, Puri, Bhubaneswar and nearby areas like Khurda, Choudwar and Pipli, hundreds of troupes showcase their talents to win applause from spectators during the Ganesh Puja and similar occasions. People used to sit and wait for hours in the past to see and hear the likes of Akshay Mohanty and Pranab Patnaik, among other big names from the Oriya music industry. They came in and performed live during festival seasons. Faces have changed over the years, but the tradition of melody has survived the test of time in the twin cities. In the run-up to the Ganesh Puja season, melody troupes of the
twin cities have begun preparations for the shows. Some of these troupes had packed schedules for the whole season encompassing Ganesh Puja, Durga Puja, and the New Year. Says Abhinash of the Party Sarty Troupe: “By now, we have bookings for 10 shows and we are sure more will come our way this season. Melody performance draws maximum crowds and we even bring in artists from outside the state — like from Mumbai and Kolkata.” According to Sudhir Kumar Sahoo of the Subhadra Melody
group, “We are usually approached two months before the dates of the programmes and our rehearsals begin a month
before the start of the season. We have our own set of artistes, who are trained and groomed by us. From every show, we earn
around `20,000. We do about 80 shows during the Dussehra and Ganesh Puja, out of around 200 shows in a year. In the shows, we use a mix of different music. Item and hit tunes of Bollywood or popular Oriya songs are major draws at the events here.”
INSIDE CUTTACK
In the world of melody, Cuttack city plays a major role. The Silver City has about 70 orchestra troupes, some of them very old, and they have all been booked for various shows. They will perform at the 150 to 200-odd major pandals set up by small and big clubs here. Mohd Shahid, head of melody group Habib Melody, says, ”This year, we have started the rehearsals and brought in some new faces for entertainment purpose from Kolkata.” Shahid’s father, Mohd Sajid, a lead singer of Habib melody group for a long time, passed away last year. In his absence, Shaheed has taken up the responsibility. “Melody is in our blood. It started with my uncle Mohd Habib, who passed away a few years back. People would come with their families to see the performance of my father and my uncle. Both are no more, but we are carrying forward the tradition with a sense of commitment. Our troupe is 52-year-old. We have our own set of artistes. They were all trained and groomed by us,” he adds. Rakesh Nayak, an avid fan of melody, says this is the perfect medium of entertainment in this region. “I love music but find it a tad difficult to enjoy a concert in an air-conditioned auditorium. I am all for melody. As a member of the audience, I can dance to the pulsating beats in an environment of wild enjoyment. Doing so gives me great satisfaction.” Melody shows provide optimum entertainment. This, perhaps, is the reason why the number of melody groups in the state is constantly scaling up the popularity charts. Saroj Behera, a businessman in Saheed Nagar in the capital, says: “Great musicians like Akshay Mohanty and Prafulla Kar would be part of such performances. These artistes get an honorarium of only a couple of hundred rupees for a programme, but they do a wonderful job.” he said.
