Calcutta Youth Choir () was set up in 1958 by

Ruma Guha Thakurta Ruma Guha Thakurta (21 November 1934 – 3 June 2019) was an Indian actress and singer primarily associated with Bengali language films. She founded Calcutta Youth Choir in 1958. Early life Ruma Guha Thakurta was born on 3 November 1934 to S ...

with

Salil Chowdhury Salil Chowdhury (19 November 1925 – 5 September 1995) was an Indian music director, songwriter, lyricist, writer and poet who predominantly composed for Bengali, Hindi and Malayalam films. He composed music for films in 13 languages. This incl ...

and

Satyajit Ray Satyajit Ray (; 2 May 1921 – 23 April 1992) was an Indian director, screenwriter, documentary filmmaker, author, essayist, lyricist, magazine editor, illustrator, calligrapher, and music composer. One of the greatest auteurs of fil ...

. Calcutta Youth Choir is known for their performance of folk and mass songs. Several years ago, the choir broke out with the song 'Aaj joto juddhabaaj'. Shibdas Bandopadhyay wrote the words and V. Balsara composed the music. The songs performed by choir under the direction of

widely includes song of

Dwijendralal Ray Dwijendralal Ray (19 July 1863 – 17 May 1913), also known as D. L. Ray, was an Indian poet, playwright, and musician. He was known for his Hindu mythological and nationalist historical plays and songs known as ''Dwijendrageeti'' or the ''So ...

Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resh ...

Rajanikanta Sen Rajanikanta Sen, also known as Kantakobi, (26 July 1865 – 13 September 1910) was a Bengali poet and composer, known for his devotional (bhakti) compositions, as well as his patriotic songs. Early life, education and profession File:Guruprasad ...

, Nazrul Islam,

Prem Dhawan Prem Dhawan (1923–2001) was an Indian lyricist, music composer, choreographer and actor of Bollywood known for his patriotic songs, especially for the lyrics and compositions for the 1965 Manoj Kumar starrer, ''Shaheed''. He was a winner ...

Sudhin Dasgupta Sudhin Dasgupta ( bn, সুধীন দাশগুপ্ত; 9 October 1929 – 10 January 1982) was a prolific Bengali music director, lyricist, and singer. He worked in various other Indian languages, such as Hindi, Assamese and Oriya ...

and Sibdas Banerjee.

History

In the year, July, 1974 20-member folk song and dance troupe of Calcutta Youth Choir led by Ruma Guha Thakurta, won the first prize in the Copenhagen Youth Festival. The choir also took part in the 25th anniversary of Independence Day of India in Delhi. Opening song by Calcutta Youth Choir to welcome

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist who served as the President of South Africa, first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1 ...

in India in 1990 and to honour

Amartya Sen Amartya Kumar Sen (; born 3 November 1933) is an Indian economist and philosopher, who since 1972 has taught and worked in the United Kingdom and the United States. Sen has made contributions to welfare economics, social choice theory, econom ...

for Nobel in the year 1998, 21 June 2007 performing for 30 years

Communist Party of India (Marxist) The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (abbreviated as CPI(M)/CPIM/CPM) is a Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist communist List of political parties in India, political party in India. It is the largest communist party of India in term ...

(CPI(M)) in

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...

are the Laurels. More than 5000 shows have been performed by the choir led by

. There are more than 300 members in the choir involved in various activities like singing, dancing, playing musical instruments, management, etc. 3 December 1994, Calcutta Youth Choir celebrated its 36th anniversary to celebrate 50 years of

's association with music, dance and cinema where sitting chief minister of

Jyoti Basu,

Bijoya Ray Bijoya Ray ('' née'' Das; 27 October 1917 – 2 June 2015) was the wife of the Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray. Their son Sandip Ray is also a film director. Bijoya and Satyajit were first cousins. Bijoya's father was the eldest half brother of ...

(wife of Late

Buddhadeb Bhattacharya Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee also known as Buddha Babu (born 1 March 1944) is an Indian Communist politician and a former member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of India (Marxist). He served as the 7th Chief Minister of West Bengal from 20 ...

, singer

Usha Uthup Usha Uthup Iyer (born 7 November 1947) is an Indian pop, filmi, jazz, and playback singer who sang songs in the late 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. "Darling", which she recorded with Rekha Bhardwaj for the film ''7 Khoon Maaf'', won the Filmfare Award ...

Amit Kumar Amit Kumar (born 3 July 1952) is an Indian playback singer, actor, music composer. Kumar launched his own music production company, named Kumar Brothers Music. He predominantly worked in Bollywood and regional film songs since the 1970s, inc ...

and many other legend were present. In spite of her major heart attack since 2004 Ruma Guhathakurta is still regularly performing. This is the only leading choir troupe of Calcutta performing continuously for the last 55 years. Former chief minister of

inaugurated the new building of the choir in South

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

on 29 December 2006. 2 May 2008 in the birthday of

, Calcutta Youth Choir celebrated 50 years anniversary at Rabindrasadan,

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

in presence of

Manna Dey Prabodh Chandra Dey (May 1, 1919 − October 24, 2013), known by his stage name Manna Dey, was an internationally acclaimed and celebrated Indian playback singer, music director, and a musician. As a classical vocalist, he belonged to the Bhen ...

, sitting speaker of Parliament Somenath Chatterjee, Sabita Chowdury, Mayor of Kolkata Bikash Bhattacharia,

Suchitra Mitra Suchitra Mitra (19 September 1924 – 3 January 2011) was an Indian singer, composer, artist exponent of Rabindra Sangeet or the songs of Bengal's poet laureate Rabindranath Tagore, professor, and the first woman Sheriff of Kolkata. As an acad ...

and others.

and Sabita Chowdury participated in the song ''Janeywaleey Sipahi'' under the direction of Ruma Guha Thakurta. 16 September 2010, choir celebrated its 52nd anniversary where 6 members of Calcutta Youth Choir were honoured for performing regularly with the choir for more than 50 years by

. 9 April 2012, choir celebrated its 54th anniversary of Calcutta Youth Choir headed by

. This was the last show Guha Thakurta was present and conducted the show. 11 June 2013, choir celebrated its 55th anniversary of Calcutta Youth Choir. For the first time

was not present in the Annual Show due to her deteriorating health condition. 27 January 2013, the choir hosted a Dance and Music Festival held at the Uttarpara Jaikrishna Ground. This event showcased the true culture of Bengali music accompanied with folk dance. 5 May 2013, the choir performed a collection of patriotic songs at the Gitanjali Stadium. 23 January 2014, the choir made their next appearance at the Mother Teresa International Award Ceremony and performed various folk songs to keep the audience and dignitaries entertained. In May 2014, they also performed hit numbers at Pete Seeger's Tribute Concert at the Tollygunge Club. On 4 July and 17 October 2014 the choir performed in St. James’ School and on both the occasions and performed their trademark folk and mass songs. 8 January 2015, the choir performed at Bhantala High School and entertained the crowd with their enthralling music. On 12 September 2015, the Calcutta Youth choir performed at the Golden Jubilee Celebration of Naragole Raj College in Midnapur. In July 2016, the choir performed at Rabindra Sadan to celebrate the birth anniversary of D.L. Roy,

Atul Prasad Sen Atul Prasad Sen ( bn, অতুল প্রসাদ সেন; 20 October 1871 – 26 August 1934) was a Bengali composer, lyricist and singer, and also a lawyer, philanthropist, social worker, educationist and writer. Early life Atul Prasad ...

and Rajani Ratan Sen. On 30 December 2016, the Calcutta Youth Choir performed in a Sangeet Anusthan held in the district of Hedua. The Calcutta Youth Choir has performed at the Bangla Sangeet Mela organised by the Govt. of West Bengal on several occasions: 9 April 2013, the choir participated in the Bangla Sangeet Mela held at the Rabitirtha Hall in Newtown. In February 2014, 17 February 2015 and 18 December 2016 the choir yet again performed at the historic Bangla Sangeet Mela organised by the Govt. of West Bengal and held at Rabindra Sadan. 19 July 2015, the choir performed to celebrate the birth anniversary of D.L. Roy and Atul Prasad Sen at Rabindra Sadan.

Albums by Calcutta Youth Choir

# ''Beje Uthlo Ki Somoyer Ghori'', A collection of mass songs released by HMV in 1976 # ''Waqt Ki Awaz (Hindi)'', A collection of modern songs released by HMV # ''Prarthna Sangeet'', A collection of devotional songs released by CBS # ''All times Great Calcutta Youth Choir'', A collection of selected track from HMV # ''Amra Tori Beye Jai'', A collection of mass songs released by HMV in 1981 # ''Manusher Gaan Gai'', A collection of mass songs released by HMV in 1982 # ''Pochis Bochor Dhore'', Released by HMV in the year 1983 on 25th anniversary of the choir # ''Bharatbarsho Surger Ek Naam'', A collection of Bengali modern songs released by HMV # ''Swadesi Juger Gaan'', a collection of patriotic songs released by HMV # ''Chetonar Gaan'', A collection of songs to welcome

in India released by CBS in 1988 # ''Besh Sotoker Gaan'', A collection of Bengali mass songs released by Hindustan Records in 1990 celebrating 300th birthday of

# ''Deshatobodok Gaan'', A collection of patriotic songs released by Gathani in 1993 # ''Din Agato Oi'', A collection of modern songs released by Gathani in 1994 for the celebration of Bengali New Year (1400 SATABDI) # ''Kadam Kadam Badaye Ja (Hindi)'', A collection of INA (Azad Hind Fauj) songs by HMV n 100th birth anniversary of Netaji

Subhas Bose Subhas Chandra Bose ( ; 23 January 1897 – 18 August 1945 * * * * * * * * *) was an Indian nationalist whose defiance of British authority in India made him a hero among Indians, but his wartime alliances with Nazi Germany and Imperi ...

in 1996 # ''Mile Sobe Bharat Santan'', A collection of modern songs released by HMV in 1998 # ''Sikol Bhangar Gaan'', A collection of Patriotic songs (before India's Independence) released in 2001 # ''Amader Salilda'', A collection of mass songs by

released by ASHA AUDIO in 2007 # ''Ek Dor Mein'', A collection of Hindi Translation Rabindra Sangeet released by Saregama(HMV) in 2010

References

External links

Calcutta Youth Choir, performances
{{authority control Indian musical groups Choirs of children Youth choirs Musical groups established in 1958 Culture of West Bengal Culture of Kolkata Bengali music Indian choirs 1958 establishments in West Bengal