MUMBAI: The second edition of Paddy Fields Festival witnessed the women folk musicians in a spectacular way. The two days (7-8 October) at Nesco brought singers like Sonam Kalra, Sunita Bhuyan, Susheela Raman and Nooran Sisters on day one while Shubha Mudgal, Kalpana Potawary, Tipriti Kharbangar and Sona Mohapatra on day two.

The festival known for being real to its genre started off with Sonam Kalra and her band Sufi Gospel Project. The band comprised of eight members begin the evening with Amazing Grace and then moved to Man Manam which is a Persian song. Sona also spoke about Punjabi Sufi poet Baba Bulleh Shah who was a feminist and emphasised on equality we still fight for.  Her Chal Bulleya Chal Othe performance gave goosebumps to the listeners. She performed Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah as a rendition and signed off her performance of the day once again with poet Baba Bulleh Shah’s Alfat In Bin Un Bin An Bin.

Next artiste of the day was Susheela Raman who performed with her new band. She was almost on cloud nine and slew the stage with her songs making the evening memorable for the audience.

The third musician was none other than violinist Sunita Bhuyan who broke the stereotype that violin cannot be played with folk music. She sang Potoary Potoary dedicating it to the king of folk and fusion Leslie Lewis. In her next song, she accompanied the dance troop from Assam who gave a graceful performance. She infused Bihu style into Bollywood song of  Jagga Jasoos Galti Se Mistake and introduced well know Assamese singer Dikshu. They played a special instrument called Pepa made of Buffalo’s horn.

Next on line were the Nooran Sisters who were introduced by RJ Siddharth as a live wire. They gave tadka performance of songs like Saiyon and Allahoo. Their power-packed performance brought the audience to the dance floor.

Day two kicked off with Shubha Mudgal who set the melancholy mood that was in tune with everyone’s beats. From songs based on Kabir Dohas to works of Shantanu Moitra, it was a power-packed performance.  She celebrated nature, wedding, and life in her first three songs. Her fourth song was a piece of 15th-century poet Kabir Das Muniya Pinjre Wali. She also sang a song on gender bias and a marriage song Babul. The last song was on demand and it connected with the weather. She sang Abki Saavn a track that made everyone dance to the rains.

Queen of Bhojpuri Kalpana took over the stage next. She was a perfect blend of connecting urban and rural. Her Bhojpuri songs were on the edge of village site where one can’t control but dance. She herself was a big follower of Bhupendra Hazarika, Assam based singer. Thus, she gave a tribute to him with a song titled Dol. She marked the evening with the Sohar Song. Breathtaking singer and songwriter Mirande Shah from Gujarat was present at the event. Kalpana sang some more songs like Beti Bechwa Babu Ji, Kabir Doha with a special two-stringed instrument with Orijit Roy.

Gujarati singer Mirande Shah said, “I personally liked Kalpana because of many reasons. She had a quite variety of folk in her set. Her singing is really wonderful and she has got the essence of folk which is important. She is not a Bollywood singer doing some folk in the folk fest. She has learnt the art, researched and has been singing it in the rural India as well as urban India.”

Next on the line-up was Tipriti Kharbangar from Soulmate. For many in the crowd, she was the best among all. She won everyone’s heart with blues and her dance. She sang all folk songs including one self-composition of her band which was in French named Shades Of Green. Shivangi Asthana said, “She was a breathing fire. Her powerful voice shook everyone from roots. Much like as her name suggests Tipriti – To know your roots, she sang in the similar tone too.”

The last artist to perform for the finale was Sona Mohapatra. The Mumbai based singer took everyone through the beautiful journey of her musical career. Her Ambarsariya melted everyone’s heart and they couldn’t stop themselves from dancing.

All these successful ladies were an epitome of feminism. They were powerful and strong and each conveyed a message of empowerment to all the women out there. Thanks to Paddy Fields Festival for organizing this and attuning with everyone the spirit of celebrating womanhood.  “It is a great platform for folk music and it is done in a very classy way. We need more such initiatives for the other Hindustani genre to bring out Indian music and preserve our heritage,” added Mirande Shah

The two days festival saw known faces like the pioneer of folk and fusion Leslie Lewis, Parthiv Gohil with family, Singer Mirande Shah and others from the industry. RJ Sidhartha from Big FM was the host for the two days festival. The fans were overwhelmed by the vibes the artistes gave with the melodies.