Birendra Krishna Bhadra

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Birendra Krishna Bhadra was a poet widely remembered for his recital of Mahishashura Mardini, a collection of shlokas and songs broadcast by All India Radio Calcutta (now Kolkata) in the dawn of Mahalaya. He was an alumnus of the well-known Scottish Church College in Kolkata.

An important festival in the calendar of a Bengali Hindu is Durga Puja. Durga Puja lies within Devi Paksha (fortnight of Goddess), a particular fortnight of Bengali calendar when the Durga Puja is scheduled. The first day of the Devi Paksha is Mahalaya.

In the 1930s All India Radio used to broadcast a program called Mahishashura Mardini which describes the epic battle of goddess Durga with the demon king Mahishashura.^[1] The script of this program was written by Bani Kumar and music directed by Pankaj Kumar Mallik.^[1] The enchanting rendition by Birendra Krishna Bhadra was the stand out aspect of the recital. In 1970s, the programme became a recorded one. It has been decades since then, but even today Durga Puja opens with the same enthralling recital by Birendra Krishna Bhadra.

Bhadra wrote some plays including Mess No. 49.^[2]

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

• Pragya Paramita. "Heralding The Goddess", expressindia.com, Indian Express Newspapers (Mumbai) Ltd, 15 September 2006. Retrieved on 6 May 2007.
• Indranil Chakraborty. "Saregama gets going on Bhadra royalty, expressindia.com, Indian Express Newspapers (Mumbai) Ltd, September 26 2006. Retrieved on 6 May 2007.
• "Mahalaya in Bengal", Mahalaya - Its Relation with the Durga Puja, NetGlimse.com. Retrieved on 6 May 2007.
• "Mahalaya", bangalinet.com. Retrieved on 6 May 2007.
• Scottish Church College Magazine(Year - 1999,2000 and 2001.Volume - 87,88 and 89).