Roopchand Pakshi
Roopchand Pakshi | |
|---|---|
| Roopchand Das Mahapatra | |
| Born | c. 1815 Odisha, India |
| Died | c. 1890 (aged 74–75) Calcutta, India |
| Education | Hare School, Kolkata |
| Occupations | Poet, singer, composer, satirist |
| Notable work | Sangeet Rasakallol |
Roopchand Pakshi (Bengali: রূপচাঁদ পক্ষী; c. 1815 – c. 1890) was a Bengali poet, singer, composer, satirist, and performer of panchali, tappā, and dhap songs.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]
Early life
Roopchand Pakshi was born Roopchand Das Mahapatra (Odia: ରୂପଚାନ୍ଦ ଦାସ ମହାପାତ୍ର) in 1815 to Gourhori Das Mahapatra. His ancestral home was situated near Chilika Lake in what is now Odisha.[6] The family migrated from Odisha to Calcutta (now Kolkata) during Pakshi's early years;[8] he grew up and spent the rest of his life in the city. He studied at the Hare School at College Street. He trained under local music teachers, such as Golam Abbas Tabalchi, Chhotey Miah, and Ramchandra Banerjee.[1]
Musical and literary contributions
Pakshi's musical and literary output frequently included satirical narratives and social commentary. He composed songs on a wide array of subjects. He routinely sang about contemporary topics, including the introduction of the railways, widow marriage, kanyādāna, and other things.[9][10][11] Outside of his panchali, tappā, dhap, and baul compositions, Pakshi also performed devotional music.[1][12] He called himself pakshi, literally meaning 'bird' in Bengali. He formed a troupe of performers called Pakshir Dal (lit. 'association of birds'), and was colloquially known as the "bird king."[8][12][13] Pakshi and his group were ganjika drinkers; cannabis was central to their craft and identity.[9]
Pakshi was also noted for often combining Bengali and English in some of his compositions.[3][14] An oft-cited lyric from a song of his in praise of Lord Krishna goes:
Let me go, o he dvārī
I visit to vaṃśīdhārī(all English)
[Let me go, O gatekeeper
I'm going to visit the flute-bearer (Krishna)]
Pakshi died in around 1890.
Notable works
- Sangeet Rasakallol (A Wave of Musical Delight)
- Kalikātā Barnan (A Description of Calcutta)
- Helay Hāy Jāy (The Day Slips by Casually)
- Kāṭāli Kāl Hoyē Nākāl (Broken and Ruined by Time)
References
- ^ a b c "Rupchand Pakshi". en.banglapedia.org. Retrieved 2026-01-13.
- ^ Ghosh, Nabaparna (October 29, 2020). A Hygienic City-Nation: Space, Community, and Everyday Life in Colonial Calcutta. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781108489898.
- ^ a b "In conversation with Prof. Kunal Chakrabarti on Sriramapa(c)alī". Sahapedia. Retrieved 2026-01-13.
- ^ "The 'Songhs' of Old Calcutta were not just mere entertainers, but also social commentators". GetBengal.
- ^ Das, Sisir Kumar, ed. (2003). Samsad Bangla Sahitya Sangi [Samsad Companion to Bengali Literature] (in Bengali) (1st ed.). Sahitya Samsad. ISBN 9788179550076.
- ^ a b Clammer, John; Bussey, Marcus; Chakravorty, Meera; Banerjee, Tanmayee, eds. (July 26, 2019). Dynamics of Dissent: Theorizing Movements for Inclusive Futures. Taylor & Francis.
- ^ Journal of the Indian Musicological Society. Vol. 17–18. A.R. Mehta for the Indian Musicological Society. 1986. p. 34.
- ^ a b Long, James (June 1974). Sen Gupta, Sankar (ed.). Calcutta and Its Neighbourhood: History of People and Localities from 1690 to 1857 (PDF). Indian Publications, Calcutta.
- ^ a b "মানুষ হয়েও তাঁরা ছিলেন পাখি! পুরনো কলকাতার রূপচাঁদ পক্ষী ও তাঁর দলের কথা জানেন?". Sangbad Pratidin.
- ^ Lahiri, Durgadas (1905). বাঙ্গালীর গান [Bengali Songs] (in Bengali).
- ^ Dutta, Utpal (1992). Girish Chandra Ghosh. Sahitya Akademi. p. 9. ISBN 9788172011970.
- ^ a b Sengupta, Subodh Chandra (1960). Basu, Anjali (ed.). সংসদ বাঙালি চরিতাভিধান [Samsad Bengali Biographical Dictionary] (in Bengali). Samsad – Shiksha Sahitya Kendra Limited.
- ^ Roy, Ranjit Kumar, ed. (1995). Retrieving Bengal's Past: Society and Culture in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Century. Rabindra Bharati University. p. 23. ISBN 9788186438039.
- ^ Ghosh, Pika (July 15, 2020). Sivaramakrishnan, K.; Kaimal, Padma (eds.). Making Kantha, Making Home: Women at Work in Colonial Bengal. University of Washington Press. ISBN 9780295747002.