Bulbuli: Rituraj and Nandita’s journey to Coke Studio Bangla
Rituraj was not aware of Coke Studio’s launch in Bangladesh at the time. He performed Bulbuli and a few other songs for Arnob, but they did not have any further discussion about it
Coke Studio Bangla released 'Bulbuli' on the occasion of Pahela Baishakh. The song was originally written by Kazi Nazrul Islam, and the track is a mashup of 'Bulbuli' and 'Dol Dol Dol Diyeche' by Syed Gausul Alam Shaon.
The song has received a lot of praise from fans everywhere, particularly the performances of Rituraj Baidya and Sanjida Mahmud Nandita.
"The music was composed and arranged by Shuvendu Das Shuvo. He is very close to us," said Rituraj to The Business Standard. "In November of last year, Shuvendu had asked me to sing and play Bulbuli on my guitar after a show. A few days later he invited me to meet Shayan Chowdhury Arnab at his house."
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Rituraj was not aware of Coke Studio's launch in Bangladesh at the time. He performed Bulbuli and a few other songs for Arnob, but they did not have any further discussion about it.
One day, out of the blue, Arnob contacted Rituraj and shared the news that he had been selected for Coke Studio Bangla. He was overjoyed.
"Being a part of a project like Coke Studio and performing for it was an unforgettable experience," he added.
Rituraj shared that he was initially a little nervous. As he explained, "There was so much planning and organising, so many cameras and people, it made me a little nervous in the beginning. But everyone there was very cooperative."
"We shot all day until we got the perfect take. The entire song was recorded live," he added.
Rituraj's love for music stems from his family. His late elder brother Prithwi Raj was a musician and his mother Durba Chowdhury was passionate about music. The brothers composed several songs together. Rituraj wanted to share their works, but after the death of Prithwi, and the challenges presented by the pandemic, nothing more was done.
Rituraj participated in the 'Close Up 1: Tomakei Khujchhey Bangladesh' in 2012, and he has been performing live regularly ever since. He also quit his day job a few days ago to pursue a career in singing.
Sanjida Mahmud Nandita's passion for singing also stems from her family. She was inspired to pursue singing by her mother. Nandita started her training only at the age of three and a half under the guidance of Ustad Dilip Majumder.
Nandita participated in Bangladeshi Idol 2013 and ranked at number seven amongst the top ten finalists of the season.
Sharing her experience with Coke Studio Bangla, she said, "It was one of the best achievements of my music career. I am extremely grateful for this. I never thought I would be able to sing for a platform as big as Coke Studio this early in my career."
Prior to her involvement with Coke Studio Bangla, Nandita has worked as a playback singer for movies such as 'Halda' and 'Fagun Haway', directed by Tauquir Ahmed. She also released an original track entitled 'Fagune Gungun'.
Moving forward, Rituraj and Nandita want to continue entertaining their fans with good music.
