In every police force,there are always some talented, dynamic and versatile personalities who don’t often come in limelight but silently perform without indulging in any sort of grandiloquence or self advertisement. These are the people who in reality are actual assets to the police department and are considered true anchormen, no matter how adverse or invincible the situation or antagonists may be. Incidentally, any discussion relating to such people naturally call for a critical analysis of their duties and successful performance because the Press And the general public are by and large keen to assess an individual no matter who he or she may be, consider nothing beyond performance.
Apurba Lal Sarkar is one such fine gentleman from the Lalbazar Police force, whose sense of music and the gift of goldenvoice have literally enthralled and entertained his colleagues and well-wishers. He does not like to blow his own trumpet but his friends and associates around know pretty well how efficient and enterprising he is.
Incidentally, Apurba Lal Sarkar is a stout and determined Constable serving the Kolkata Police at Lalbazar Police Station and is free from any sort of prejudice or obstinacy.
Lovingly called ‘Gaan dada’ by his friends, peers and colleagues, Apurba Lal Sarkar resembles a character from a short story. He didn’t have any traditional training on music or instrument. And yet, that makes his songs unique and spontaneous to its core. Even he acknowledges, “I come from a hard-working family where from the very early years, I had to take care of the family chores. It never happened to me that I needed to nurture my dreams or passions. But music came upon me like a divine blessing. I won’t say that I have idolized Hemanta Kumar Mukhopadhyay or Kishore Kumar. To me, music is an emotion and whatever I write, or add music to the lyrics and sing, comes directly from my heart. If poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings, so is the music in him.” The most overwhelming aspect of Apurba Lal Sarkar is his spontaneity. Popular lyricists take day after day to pen down tracks. Incase of Gaan dada, the whole approach is significantly different. Unlike other lyricists, he only considers giving tune to the song, only when he is satisfied with the content of the lyrics. This methodical approach has definitely given him an extra edge over seasoned campaigners in the domain of music.
“I come from a hard-working family where from the very early years, I had to take care of the family chores. It never happened to me that I needed to nurture my dreams or passions. But music came upon me like a divine blessing”.
It would be a misnomer to say that Apurba Lal Sarkar is aromantic person or someone who has a sharp intellect. What differentiates him from others is his approach towards life. “I live in Durganagar, which is far from my office herein Lalbazar. Everyday I travel by train and I get to mix with hundreds of new faces and hear their strange stories. Those stories of everyday life inspire me to innovate and thus I can relate to their experiences with most of my songs,” says Apurba Lal Sarkar. According to him, ‘backdrop’ of any song is important and thus he effortlessly moves from the modern day Bengali songs to the rhythmic Santhali songs without any hassle. As of now, he has written more than three hundred songs and this is no mean an achievement at all! The same person who is so efficient at work with his duties equally effortlessly sings with his heart’s content.
The early 90s in Bengal witnessed the era of ‘jibonmukhi’ songs which were not only comforting to young souls but also catchy to some extent. Apurba Lal Sarkar’s songs also resemble the era and his style of singing is also immaculate. Most of his songs focus on ‘happiness’ and there is no surprise that in his locality, singer Apurba Lal Sarkar is so loved and adored by the common people. He acknowledges candidly, “Many a time my friends have asked me whether I should take proper training or singing lessons.
Being a part of the police force, I go through hectic schedule most of the time and personally I don’t feel at all the necessity of a strict formal training. My wife, who also sings well, motivates me and the rest simply happens. I always carry a few pieces of paper in my back pocket. Whenever I feel inspired, I write down the words and in my spare time make an effort to bring music out of them which reminds me of a famous line–‘Music when soft voices die/ Vibrates in the memory’.”
As of now, two albums of Apurba Lal Sarkar have already been released. The first album titled ‘tomay dekhte icche korey’ was launched by Nirjhorer Swapno in 2015 whereas this year, his next album ‘Monkawtha hoy’ has been released from Kiran. A man of all seasons, Apurba Lal Sarkar aspires to become a noted singer someday when people would recognize and appreciate his singing skills and lyrics.
