Sukalpa Dhar: There are twelve months in the Gregorian calendar. The month of October comes as the tenth month every year. It has a total of 31 days. The month of October falls in the Autumn season. The zodiac signs for this month are Libra (22nd September – 23rd October) and Scorpio (23rd October – 22nd November). October shares it’s root with octopus and octagon. In Latin ‘Octo’ means eight. According to the original Roman republican calendar October was the eighth month of the year rather than the tenth.
Often the Sharad Utsav falls in this month. ‘Sharad’ means Autumn and ‘Utsav’ means festival. Durga Puja is also referred as Sharad Utsav. This year the Durga Puja began on 11th October, 2021 and it came to an end on 15th October, 2021.
The month of October has a huge connection with music as many singers and musicians were born on this month. It can be said as if it is the month of singers. Many Indian singers and music composers were born in the month of October. The famous music composer Sachin Dev Barman was born on 1st October, 1906. On 24th October, 1980 Indian classical vocalist Kaushiki Chakraborty was born. Kumar Sanu was born on 20th October, 1956. Abhijeet Bhattacharya was born on 30th October, 1958. Anuradha Paudwal was born on 27th October, 1952. Begum Akhtar was born on 7th October, 1914. Music director, lyricist and singer Sudhin Dasgupta was born on 9th October, 1929 and there are numerous others. All these musicians and singers have acquired immense name and fame in our country and abroad.
Mr. Amitabh Bachchan apart from his exceptional acting skills is also known for his singing abilities. Let’s take a look at some of the popular songs that are sung by Big B (as Amitabh Bachchan is fondly called). They are: (i) Atrangi Yaari for the film ‘Wazir’ with Farhan Akhtar. (ii) Main Yahan Tu Wahan for the film ‘Baghban’ (iii) Chalo Jane Do for the film ‘Bhoothnath’. Amitabh Bachchan was born on 11th October, 1942.
It seems that the month of October has got a deep connection with music. Many musicians were born on this month. World Singing Day is a global sing along held annually on the third Saturday in October. As a catalyst for positive human connection this day each year serves as an opportunity to celebrate our global family through the international language of music. World Singing Day was first celebrated on 2012 by Colorado (USA) musician Scott Johnson. World Singing Day encourages togetherness and brotherhood through the simple act of singing together. World Singing Day is for everyone irrespective of age, gender, cast, physically challenged, religion, nationality, age or colour. World Singing Day is a joyful experience for all the musicians, music lovers, passionate singers, shower singers to professional singers as they gather in their communities and sing together without being neglected and without the pressure of being judged.
There is a soundtrack album named ‘October’ to a Bollywood film named ‘October’ (2018). The film was directed by Shoojit Sircar. I love to listen to Jagjit Sings ghazals since my childhood days. It was very unfortunate that on 10th October, 2011 he breathed his last. He was an Indian singer, composer, and musician. He is popularly known as the king of Ghazals. I also love to listen to Chitra Singh’s ghazals. Jagjit-Chitra’s duets were phenomenal. Some of my favourite ghazals are ‘Kissi Ranjish Ko Hawa Do’, ‘Duniya Jise Kehte Hai Jadu Ka Khilona Hai’, ‘Agar Hum Kahe Aur Wo Muskurade’, and many others. I also love Ghulam Ali’s Ghazals. Some of them are ‘Chupke Chupke Raat Din’, ‘Hangama Hai Kyun’, ‘Tumhare Khat Mein’ and many others.
Ustad Amjad Ali Khan is the eminent Indian classical sarod player. He was also an October born. He was born on 9th October, 1945. He was awarded with India’s second highest civilian honour Padma Vibhushan in the year 2001.
I am a passionate singer too. I am an avid music lover and listener. I love to listen to the music of Zakir Hussain, John McLaughlin, Shankar Mahadevan, Shaan, Sonu Nigam, Kumar Sanu, Abhijeet Bhattacharya, Kaushiki Chakraborty, Hariharan and the list goes on. I was born on 29th of October may be that might be the reason behind my passion for singing. Hemant Kumar, Manna Dey is my all time favourites. From the current generation Pawandeep Rajan, Aneek Dhar, Anweshaa Dutta Gupta, etc, are doing really commendable jobs. I love Aneek Dhar’s voice. Currently Aneek Dhar is one of the members among the grand juries for Zee tv’s singing reality show SaReGaMaPa 2021. Reality shows are a very good platform for showcasing the talents of the upcoming generation. It provides a platform to the singers and encourages the good ones to flourish.
Photo | Representative Image