On Srabon

Srabon is the fourth month in Bengali calendar. Falling in July-August, it is when the monsoon rains sweep the delta. With the rains come the seasonal floods that shut down the countryside. Rains also affect the urban middle class with their restless minds (udashi mon) and poetry (kobita). And that’s what Different Touch’s song ‘Srabon’ is all about. It is not, however, a traditional Bangla song. Rather, it sounds like something from that other great delta musical tradition — Srabon, then, is Padma meets Mississippi. In 1990, when the band released their eponymous album, this was not the biggest hit. The band itself was neither the first Bangla rock act nor the most popular — Azam Khan, Souls and Feedback preceded them by years (a very interesting recollection halfway down this link), while Ayub Bachchu and James easily sold more albums. But this was the first song I really liked, and these days it is considered a veritable classic. So this was in the first one to be listed. I have no idea where these guys are now. If anyone does, feel free to write to my brothers Amar and Akbar.