Noted expatriate sitar artiste Alif Laila captivated music lovers in a solo recital held recently at the base of the empty pond of Faculty of Fine Art (FFA), University of Dhaka. Indian tabla artiste Sudhir Ghorai, a disciple of Pandit Anindo Chatterjee, accompanied the sitarist. FFA authority organised the concert.
The concert was a tribute to the Dhaka Art Institute (now FFA), from where Alif Laila completed her BFA in 1981.
The unique setting of the concert, in the empty pond grounds, and the beautiful atmosphere of nature created a special appeal to the music lovers. The concept was materialised under the direction by noted artist Professor Nisar Hossain, Dean of FFA.
Alif Laila started off her musical flight with playing Raga Hameer on teentaal and adadha teentaal. She later played Raga Basant in madhyalaya and drut teentaal followed by a jhala. The artiste wrapped up with presenting a Khamaj dhun revolving around many Bengali songs.
Alif Laila was born in Dhaka, where she began the formal study of sitar under Ustad Mir Qasem Khan, nephew of the legendary Ustad Allaudin Khan. She further continued under the tutelage of Partha Chatterjee, Krishna Bhatt and Kushal Das. She is an accomplished painter as well. Laila has toured worldwide and performed music at numerous prestigious venues. Her DVD, “Hrydayaragam” was featured in the Women's History Month at the Smithsonian in 2008 and “Strings of Resonance” was nominated for the Best Classical Music Award in Bangladesh in 2010. She has collaborated with artistes of South Indian classical music, jazz, saxophone and percussion, and has composed music for cello and dance. Her music ventures beyond the realm of the traditional Indian classical. Her audio-visual sitar concert with her watercolour paintings was presented in major venues the USA, the UK and Bangladesh. In February 2015, she founded her music school “Sitar Niketan”.